An architect in furious agreement with the Treasurer (but not his entire demolition hit list) – Sydney Morning Herald

The Cahill Expressway. Credit:James Alcock

This has been discussed, designed and redesigned so many times its hard to fathom. The question is: keep it as a grand edge and colonnade to Sydney Harbour or demolish it and bury the railway station underground to make a great public square? Wouldnt it be great if the Treasurer funded a design competition that considered both, and committed to funding the winner.

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I couldnt agree more with Perrottet on those ordinary, cheap, brick add-ons to the Lands and Courthouse buildings. Let's commit, right here and now, that any addition to a historic or culturally significant building be the result of a design excellence competition, with the proper funding to support architectural beauty and delight. Clover Moore and the City of Sydney have proven this is the recipe for architectural success, winning most of the significant architectural awards this past decade.

Neo-liberalism has committed more "hate crimes" against architectural beauty (the Treasurer's words) by destruction than any architect or urban designer ever has. By rationalising money above all other considerations of society, culture and the environment we have ridden roughshod over far too many important buildings and the public domain. Money is an abstract means of valuing something. If we dont value society, culture and the environment, how then can we protect it?

Let's agree as a society that we now view all projects, both public and private, through a triple bottom line analysis before we decide to demolish any building, environment or resume public land.

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To a point of consistency: the Treasurer cant argue on one hand that Harry Seidlers MLC building destroyed one of Sydney's most stunning buildings (the Australia Hotel) in the name of progress, yet be a significant decision maker within a government doing exactly the same thing all over greater Sydney. Just look at Haberfield and Westconnexs hate crime against beauty with the loss of 53 historic homes.

Sure, let's have progress, but lets be balanced in our discussion of loss and meaning.

And finally to the Treasurers and my own love of historic buildings, especially the sandstones. Long may this passion be nourished and grow. I encourage the proper funding of these buildings so they are preserved in perpetuity.

But there is one group of architecturally historic buildings in danger of demolition through neglect and over-development. Buildings so fine and so rare they would rate as some of Australias best early colonial architecture, designed by some of our most important architects. These buildings are adjacent to Parramatta Park, in the Fleet Street Heritage Precinct, such as Cumberland Hospital, the Female Factory, Parramatta Jail and many more. The area is also home to significant Indigenous history.

I encourage the Treasurer to visit these sites and see their beauty and to realise how important they are in the understanding of white settlement in Australia, and properly fund their upkeep. But also to reduce the development that is slated within the curtilage of this historic area, threatening their importance. As a state we need to preserve our significant social, cultural and environmental history so they can tell the stories of our past to our future generations.

Shaun Carter is the principal at CarterWilliamson Architects and a former NSW president of Australian Institute of Architects.

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An architect in furious agreement with the Treasurer (but not his entire demolition hit list) - Sydney Morning Herald