The long-planned demolition of the 1960s modernist Ryde Civic Centre in Sydney has been put on hold after a last-ditch appeal from a seemingly unlikely quarter.
Heritage NSW confirmed on Friday 26 February that it had placed a 40-day stop-work order on the site after developer lobby group Urban Taskforce lodged a request for the building to be given interim heritage protection.
The City of Ryde is planning to build a $108 million civic centre on the site, with Plus Architecture designing the multi-building complex – the New Heart of Ryde – which promises to deliver a “four-fold increase” in community facilities. A report commissioned by council showed 85 percent community support for the proposal. But the Urban Taskforce has criticized the “hypocrisy” of the council in planning to demolish the International-style building, which was designed by Leslie J. Buckland and C. Druce and opened in 1964.
The lobby group is relying on the views of former NSW government architect Chris Johnson – who served as CEO of Urban Taskforce from 2011 to 2019 – to support its claim. He notes that the building is “a classic example of the post-World War 2 International Style” with “a dramatic appearance and iconic symbolism as the centre of governance for the Ryde area.”
But the city’s mayor, Jerome Laxale, dismissed the concerns, telling media that Urban Taskforce was only interested in the project because council had earlier rejected plans for two residential towers on the site.
“It is astounding that on the same day developers complain, the state government orders a stop to a project that has the support of 85 per cent of the Ryde community,” he said.
“We will fight this developer-led push. They have no interest in the Ryde community, all they want is our land to build apartments on.”
The existing Ryde Civic Centre by Leslie J. Buckland and C. Druce.
Image: The City of Ryde
The existing Ryde Civic Centre is not heritage-listed but is notable for its marked similarity with the Peddle Thorp and Walker-designed AMP tower at Circular Quay, opened two years earlier than the council building and now heritage-listed. According to Johnson, “The subtle curve and the gridded glazing pattern of the curtain-wall facade are very similar to the AMP building.” In 2015, SafeWork NSW deemed the civic centre building to be unsafe.
Urban Taskforce’s chief executive Tom Forrest insists his concern is for the building’s heritage value.
“This is the only building constructed in the twentieth-century in the entire Ryde LGA worth preserving – and council are knocking it over and replacing it with a community centre and facilities that have the architectural merit of a concrete toilet bowl,” he said.
“Ryde council has been quick to use heritage as a fig-leaf for NIMBY rejections of private sector development – but when it comes to their own history, they run down the asset then rush for the bulldozers. If a developer did this they would be hung out to dry.”
The demolition of the centre was due to begin today, 1 March. Works will be suspended for 40 days under section 136 of the Heritage Act and, should the Heritage Council find that the building might have heritage significance, an interim heritage order will be considered.
