The lack of design competitions in Sydney has created a culture of complacent designers and "ugly" buildings, says the mayor of The Hills Shire, Peter Dimbrowsky.
The Council has initiated its first ever design competition for a site at 352 Windsor Road, which will become a residential, commercial and retail development.
The site's applicant, Dyldam, will invite three designers to participate in the competition, judged by a panel consisting of a Dyldam representative, council planners and an external architect.
Dimbrowsky believes that design competitions are essential in raising the standard of Sydney's architecture. "When you drive around Sydney you see some ugly buildings. Buildings that pay no respect to the streetscape or character of the area, and too often, developers are allowed to use substandard materials in order to just get the project finished and sold, rather than being proud of what they're leaving as a legacy."
"I think that people need to be challenged. If you know that people are competing for the same outcome, automatically you put your best foot forward. They [competitions] stop complacency. What we are hoping to do is turn the minds of the architects to use a little bit more art and design," Dimbrowsky told Architecture and Design.
If this competition is a success, the Council plans to follow the lead of the City of Sydney and introduce a Design Excellence clause into their Local Environment Plan, making it mandatory that plans for new buildings that meet certain criteria on height and value are subject to a design competition.
"For us, it's a great opportunity to make sure that the quality of our area remains high," Dimbrowsky said. "We make no apologies for that. We just don't want shitty developments up in the north west of Sydney."
