Architects and heritage specialists have lost in the fight to save a Sydney Brutalist court from demolition.
Developer Vision Land Glebe intends to knock down the Bidura Children’s Court and Metropolitan Remand Centre to make way for a multi-residential development.
The City of Sydney sought a heritage listing for the structure, while Vision Land launched action in the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2018 to win approval for the project.
The Court ruled in favour of the developer, citing evidence from a heritage specialist who declared that the building was not a significant example of Australian Brutalist architecture.
The City of Sydney had suggested an adaptive reuse, whereby the building could be transformed into a primary school or a residential development. However, this idea was dismissed by the heritage specialist, who said the building would be unsuitable for adaptive reuse and that it would not be economically viable.
An appeal was made against the Court’s decision, however this was dismissed last week.
The developer is now free to lodge a development application for the site.
Vision Land's plan for a multi-residential development on the site. Image credit: Vision Land Glebe
“Vision Land’s new project seeks to create a sensitive new residential development that respects the rich and significant social, historic and architectural history of Bidura House,” reads Vision Land’s website.
“Our design response seeks to knit sympathetically into the varied adjacent urban fabric, strengthening the existing streetscape along Avon Street, rejuvenating and activating Ferry Lane, and achieving a fine-grain response that is truly of its place.”
Image credit: glebesociety.org.au
