IT assignment help on: Architecture of Sydney Town Hall
Introduction
The Sydney Town Hall has been a landmark sandstone building which is located at the centre of Sydney, New South Wales. The entire building is directly opposite to the Queen Victoria Building and beside the St. Andrew’s Cathedral. The other popular elements besides the great town hall are the Town Hall station, George Street, Central Business District, etc. Today Town Hall is a popular meeting place for the residents of the city Sydney.
Architecture of Sydney Town Hall
Built in the year 1880s the Sydney Town Hall is a site for an old cemetery from local Sydney sandstone as a part of the grand Victorian Second Empire Style and has been popular as “lavishly ornamented composition with focal tower and fanciful roofs. It is the only non-religious building which has retained its original function as well as interior. The building constitutes of City Council Chamber, Centennial Hall, reception rooms, and office of the Lord Mayor along with the other elected councillors. Inside the Centennial Hall is the Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ which is one of the largest pipe organ having tubular pneumatic action. This was built around the period of 1886 to 1889 and got installed by 1890 by William Hill & Son. This organ possesses one of the two full length 64’organs. Before Sydney Opera House and its concert hall were formally opened the Town Hall was the premier concert hall in Sydney. It has been witness to many notable performances. In the past as well as today Town Hall Sydney Town Hall is a popular meeting place.
It was only in the late 20th century that it was discovered that Town Hall was built over the part of a cemetery complex. The year 2008-09 saw some renovations taking place for upgrading the mechanical, hydraulic, communication as well as electrical services. These renovations were carried out by the Sydney builder Kell&Reigby which included 6,000 cubic meters of sandstone from beneath the building. Today the Town hall falls a part of the Registrat of National Estate besides being the part of the important list of Town Halls from the heritage listed buildings that includes the famous Queen Victoria Building, Bank of New South Wales, Gresham Hotel, etc.
Tradition, Modernity and Post Modernity
This is phase of late modernity with the postmodern era yet to come. The current trend which seems to have changed drastically both socially and the way places like Sydney hall is used many people see it as the emergence of the post-modern era. Discussed below are the aspects and changes which went through within the Sydney Town Hall in the Traditional, Modern as well as understand what’s in store for the coming years.
Tradition: Just before the Modernity era the Sydney City Town hall was used for providing a huge range of community service and facilitated the residents, business as well as the tourists. The Town Hall controlled the local police force as per the incorporation act of 1842. All the police personal were paid by the Council and were under the control of the Colonial Government. However after a few years the control was handed over to the government by the council in order to make the police force a State instead of a local matter. The council was also responsible to control the markets where the tolls were raised for running the wholesale and retail markets forming a large part of the Council’s revenue. All trades were done in produce, livestock as well as fish. The initial Council by-laws were attempting to maintain law and order which was very difficult as everything was unorganized.
There are many stories which were generated out of the market culture where these usually were located at the centre of the Sydney town. Taking care of the entire municipal needs the Sydney Town Hall had the designated authorities who took care of the infrastructure development and passed on regulations. The roads, markets, taxes, administration, etc. was all done by the Council at Sydney Town Hall.
Modernity: With the emergence of the 20th century there were several changes seen to the structure and an internal restoration was done to the Town Hall by the Tanner Architects along with the Kell and Rigby builders. For the work they carried out they were awarded with the National Trust Heritage Award. The entire project was of 23 months where the former colonial Sydney burial ground was carefully excavated. In order to support the floor of the Centennial Hall huge beams were placed with a new mechanical plant as in place. At the basement archival storage was created whereas the roof got hundreds of solar panels to support the electricity inside the Hall. Automatic climate controlled air conditioning, fire sprinklers and was installed along with the energy efficient lighting (IDOSI n.d).
It was among the biggest restoration projects within the city which ever took place and that too as early as 1930 was a significant achievement for the experts behind such a magnificent task. It surely was a boost to the post tradition era and entering the modern era where besides just the architectural changes significant changes were seen in the use of the Sydney Town Hall. These essential upgrades made the Town Hall a much more accessible and attractive multipurpose venue. It was made available for exhibitions, meetings, concerts, as well as community activities. The new climate control systems, flexible staging and seating backed by excellent lighting and acoustics which suited to provide it a contemporary performing arts venue. The Town Hall met standards of any international museum and was now available for all who treasured it to be a place rich in historic values (ABC 2008).The safety features were upgraded as well were the state-of-the-art smoke detection as well as the inert gas suppressant machines were placed. These used to extinguish fire without causing any water damage to the entire structure. A new climate controlled curatorial storage space was also prepared for preserving precious collection of more than 3,000 items having historical significance. It was hence transformed into a unique meeting space which was furnished with restored cedar furniture from the original Council Chamber. In the later years after its renovation it was listed on the NSW Heritage Register. With new corridors and stairwells being coated with decorative paint schemes which reflected the late 10th Victorian era the building had more than ten different colour combinations. It highlighted the ornate plaster decoration and cornices. Further long damaged tiles got replaced and the original furniture restored along with the birdcage lift inside the foyer. The best part of the entire changes being made was that the new elements instilled was not visible to the people coming.
With the developments and the change being taken place in and around the Town Hall the Sydney Town Hall has transformed its image from being a City Council to a CBD City Council. A monument which was witness to all the municipal, administrative as well as councillors acts as both the place of a council and a public attraction. People assemble here, visit the place, check out the heritage, and try to learn more about this beautiful monument. Years have passed and the structure hold sits importance of being witness to centuries old processes, decisions, events, and the historical as well as social changes that took place within the city of Sydney (Sydney Town Hall Rewired n.d.).
It has 5 event spaces inside which are available for hire as a part of the Sydney Town Hall. Further it has two rooms inside the Town Hall House where each of them has its own feature. For tourists the place is open during the Council’s business hours which are from Monday to Friday and between 8AM to 6PM. As the building hosts different events at different schedules the entire structure is not available to be visited by the visitors. Certain area has been restricted from public access in order to provide the security required inside the place. On the arrival of the tourists the commissionaire of the George Street entrance of the building guides people to the relevant location. In order to view specific areas of the Town Hall people need join the scheduled tours operated by the administrators of the building.
The historical preserves which have been done over the year’s present a rich resource for the coming era. There are various things which have been preserved inside the Town Hall which speaks of different ages. Some of them are: (City of Sydney n.d.)
- Civic Records: The town hall has stored the historical civic records which are available for the tourists to see and travel back to the earlier era. The Ceremonial silver trowel, Ceremonial brass key, Ceremonial silver spade, Ceremonial silver mace, etc falls among the elements which are preserved as a historical civic record inside the monument.
- Artworks: It is a place for numerous art forms which includes the first item acquired way back in the year 1873 for the Sydney Town Hall. This was an impressive statement that embodied the political ambitions for the city’s municipal council. It was the large royal portrait of the HM Queen Victoria who was the reigning English monarch of that time. Over the years as per plans numerous other art forms were added on the walls of the Town Hall. These hold their own importance for both today and the coming era as a document of the changing landscape of Sydney and changing fashion as well as tastes of art in the public space.
- Gifts of the City: The place has numerous international as well as local gifts which were received in the course of official duties and hospitality since it was built. The first of them was received in the year 1880 which was a spectacular Vase de Rimini that was presented to the people of Sydney in gratitude for the successful staging of the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879.
- Foundation Stones: The walls of the Sydney Town Hall have recorded its history on its walls which ensure due recognition for ceremonies using special trowels and mallets which have been witnessed by civic dignitaries. Behind all the plaques there are time capsules which record snapshots of life and times of Sydney. This tradition is still prevalent where the last one was buried in the year 2012 which marked the completion of major works.
- HMAS Sydney: Sydney has a very special relationship with the HMAS Sydney which began in early 1914 at the time when the ship encountered with the German raider. SMS Emden crew was then cremated inside the Town Hall which was unveiled of a plaque. In the year 1941 the second crew HMAS Sydney got the honour along with a civic reception that was followed by a presentation of a medal for their victory in the Mediterranean Sea during the World War II.
Post Modernity Era
With the last part of the modernity era giving rise to the post modernity era which is still to come the Sydney Town Hall stands as a heritage structure speaking of the times that has passed over the past century. Although the exhumation of the burial remains were done the place still gives evidences to grave sites which is periodically uncovered during the excavations during building and maintenance work. In the last decade and as a part of continuous discovery process teams of archaeologists undertake their professional monitoring program that forms a part of establishing the protocols of the future investigations. The Sydney Town Hall would continue to be a venue of functions and celebrations by the community as well as the corporate sector. It forms a unique combination of the esteemed historical setting which is fully equipped with state of the art facilities and is a place of hosting contemporary events. In the post modernity era this structure would help the future generations to learn about the past and the developments which took place in the history.
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