Council House
Doing some further reading after yesterday's pondering on architectural heritage, I've seen a few people citing the 1960s era Council House (designed by Howlett and Bailey) as one of the ugliest buildings in the city.
I couldn't disagree more. In fact I'd rank it among the most beautiful and distinctive buildings in the CBD.
There's some interesting thoughts on what defines heritage in the comments on the last post — why not offer your thoughts?
Posted on Friday, June 30, 2006 and filed under Photos.
Comments
I really love this building. Nice photo too. I like the graduated lighting effect against the sky. You can see right through this building. From the far side you can see through the office space to the river. Glass box. Classic. (De-lurking twice in 24 hours!)
Posted by: rosemary on July 1, 2006
Before its recent refurbishment, Council House was a bit of an eyesore. I think the controversy at the time is still fresh in the minds of some people, and they like to drag their opinions out whenever the "Heritage Listing" debate crops up. Personally, I like how the building cleaned up. Apparently its Heritage Listing status is more due to its unique (or ground-breaking) architectural properties – something to do with the walls hanging from the roof rather than standing on the floor or something (I’m no architect). So in addition to its cultural significance, it has architectural significance too.
East Perth Train Station I’m not so sure about. I think it suffers from being the only substantial building of its size in that area. There’s plenty of more hideous buildings right in the city, but this one gets all the attention because there’s nothing to hide it. I think the main feature of the building was its distinctive style from the time, particularly the interior, which has since been renovated from its garish 70’s décor to a more modern look (and some of us were lucky enough to grab some of the awesome chairs in the process). The exterior is still pretty ugly and unlovable.
(also de-lurking!)
Posted by: Christopher on July 2, 2006
Sweet
Posted by: Jesse on July 9, 2006
