VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages

Abstract

In the architecture and construction industries, it is not surprising to find conflicting views of facadism as a model for preserving heritage buildings. In Melbourne, particularly over the last 50 years, the value placed on heritage buildings has slowly been diminishing as a result of development models that prioritise the interests of developers. However, researchers have created models for adaptive reuse to not only redevelop heritage buildings but also preserve these values and new building developments. This paper examines the development practices being adopted in Melbourne involving both facadism and adaptive reuse models. It compares compare the similarities and differences in the way these models have been used in building development. Using case studies of Melbourne’s redevelopment over the last 50 years, it examines historical documents to explore how both models have been used to retain the heritage value of buildings. Whilst many development projects prioritised economic criterion over heritage value the research has found a number of adaptive reuses have been successfully used. This suggests that adaptive reuse can be undertaken to retain heritage values, whilst still achieving economic objectives. Facadism, therefore need not be the only technique used to preserve the building’s heritage.