Central Park - Block 4N

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Block 4N at Central Park.

Abercrombie Street is fortunate to be faced by some high quality existing buildings, such as those at Nore Dame and the Australia Hotel. The proposal for the street frontage, however, does not respond well to its context and could be easily improved to better preserve and strengthen the area's sense of place.

I appreciate that the Australia Hotel and Abercrombie Street terraces are to be retained as part of this DA, and that the canterleivering of the proposed towers has improved its relationship with those buildings.

That said, there is an opportunity to improve the definition of Abercrombie Street through modification to the proposed podium building to their south.

The use of brick and sanstone to create a more strongly defined street to the south of the Abercrombie Street Terraces would enhance the area's sense of place and improve the balance between the relative densities of Central Park and Notre Dame. It would better connect the facade of the neo-Gothic building that defines most of the Abercrombie Street facade to Central Park, and avoid the Abercrombie Street corner being isolated aesthetically from the rest of the street.

The facade of the podium level proposed is defined by strong horizontal elements in glass and metal, whilst the building opposite on Abercrombie Street is defined by its vertical bays whose spacing provide a rhythm for the street. Although the art deco pub, the Australian Hotel/Abercrombie Hotel, has a strong horizontal element due to its art deco styling, it and the terraces still retain a vertical bay structure which mean that the street is more defined by its verticality.

Were a focus to be made on providing a sympathetic streetscape as a podium along Abercrombie Street to marry and connect with the buildings of Notre Dame that are on the other streetscape, the proposal could be significantly improved. In addition, it would provide a more sympathetic junction between the two differing densities on the two sites.

Since the removal of buildings on site for works on Central Park, the quality of the street frontage on Abercrombie Street has become more visible. As someone who has spent a lot of time in this precinct and who has family living in Central Park, this interface with its surrounds is important to me as a person who values the sense of place of Chippendale.

It is a funamental principle of heritage conservation that the siting of a structure is important in preserving its significance. This principle which can be seen in the attempts to better address the interface of the towers with the Hotel is as applicable to the podium structure to its south and the buildings opposite it at Notre Dame. By providing a good neighbour in the podium structure it would strengthen and enhance their siting in a way that brought out the vertical definition, textural quality, and rhythm that these buildings provide to Abercrombie Street.

This matter would not be of significant cost or provide significant difficulties in terms of design, providing as the buildings already do for a podium level with high quality finishes.

Many of these comments are also applicable to Building 4S, and if possible I would like my comments to be provided in relation to that building should I miss the chance to comment on that too. In any case, I would strongly recommend that changes be made to the proposal to provide for a better defined street level south of the Abercrombie street terraces following the following principles:

1. Podium level of 3-4 stories to align with the height of the top of the Abercrombie Hotel/Australia Hotel and the height of the buildings across the road at Notre Dame.

2. Use of appropriate facade materials such as polychrome brickwork, sandstone, and render in a complimentary and sympathetic palate.

3. Continuation of the rhythm of the bays that the windows provide down Abercrombie St to knit the two sides of the street together.

I thank you for the opportunity to comment, and hope that this submission may assist the project to improve its junction with Abercrombie Street. Conditional on this matter I support the project.