Respected Bathurst architect Henry Bialowas has written this piece for the Western Advocate, outlining his vision for redeveloping the historic TAFE building into a performing arts centre of excellence.
FOR more than 20 years I have been involved in bringing the Bathurst Town Square to light and over the past 10 years with the Town Square Group, I have been instrumental in elevating its deserved recognition and prominence to the heritage and cultural benefit of this city.
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Some will be aware of the Conservation Management Plan for the former TAFE college buildings prepared in 2002. Among its possible future uses was a clear case for the Mitchell Conservatorium's (MitCon's) future growth.
That study, which I undertook for the NSW Government, revealed even then that the MitCon had reached its capacity for growth in the Courthouse West Wing.
The largest room available, Studio 1, is insufficient for large ensembles and combined rehearsals involving musicians and choirs. The unhealthy confines of that space during summer months, when some 60 people are crammed in to rehearse, are, by any standard, embarrassingly inadequate.
Many in the community have long recognised that the MitCon is the fountainhead from which many of our young (and not so young) have drawn their musical knowledge, honed their skills and found their inspiration. A surprising number have been recognised nationally and internationally for their extraordinary talents, which reflects extremely well on that institution and this city.
We were recently reminded that the MitCon remains not only deficient in space but is having some of that precious space - its largest, Studio 1 - resumed by the Department of Justice which, in itself, is not unreasonable in a growing city.
What is unreasonable as a result of the limitations for growth of the MitCon and the progressive resumption of its floor space is the inevitable decline of this vital cornerstone of our cultural heritage. Its loss or even its diminution in a growing city with its long established musical and historical significance would be nothing short of a disaster and for all of us, a shameful act of neglect.
The former TAFE college buildings appear to some as a promising opportunity and to others an insurmountable obstacle. Both propositions cannot be true. We are therefore at a tipping point in our 205-year history and faced with an inevitable choice.
As an architect, I well understand the fear that seems to surround the inaction on this extraordinary group of buildings. This, I suspect, is largely driven by the inability to see how it may progressively be put to appropriate use.
Everyone, almost without exception, throws their hands in the air and speaks of the millions of dollars needed for its complete restoration and full implementation. This is true. It may, over time, cost millions. But a progressive restoration and gradual implementation makes it possible and somewhat necessary.
We all know that the longer buildings are left unoccupied, the sooner vermin, pigeons and water penetration create dilapidation and finally render them derelict. As time passes, the more costly they become to reinstate. Such is the case with the TAFE buildings, along with increasing standards of fire safety and accessibility for persons with disabilities.
But I firmly believed the MitCon could progressively occupy the former TAFE buildings in relatively easy stages at nominal costs. For example:
- The provision of disabled person's facilities can certainly be achieved.
- Much of the ground floor is already accessible.
- One judiciously placed lift could serve many levels and access the first floor and its 300-seat performance space.
Clearly, this is possible and, I believe necessary. It is not just a building that is at stake, it is our cultural future that weighs heavily in the balance.
The MitCon should be the infant heart of a growing future performing arts centre of excellence. This is not a fanciful dream but a realistic assessment of the needs of a growing community and its many gifted people, reflected in council's 2036 Cultural Vision.
A regional centre for a range of performing arts brings its own rewards. Charles Sturt University should still have an important and financially viable role by putting the MitCon under its wing to provide the much-needed degree courses, which at present are being met via the university at Rockhampton. Surely it is an aberration that our students should seek (with due respect) degrees from a Queensland university when we have a perfectly good one here.
It may for the moment be unrealistic for CSU to undertake its ambitious and now aborted plans for the CBD but it is not at all unrealistic for the university to continue to be an important part of the educational future of Bathurst within the CBD.
It seems to me and must be abundantly clear to others that the urgent needs and vital importance of the MitCon can be readily reconciled with the university's long-sought need for a presence in the CBD, as well as the fulfilment of Bathurst Regional Council's 2036 Vision.
This would enable the MitCon to grow and expand in prestige by offering a degree course; the university would have an immediate presence and plausible justification for opportune future growth while progressively resolving the crucially necessary reinstatement and re-occupation of one of the finest educational buildings in the state and certainly one of our finest heritage assets.
I therefore respectfully implore all relevant parties and the people of Bathurst to consider this proposal for a future performing arts centre as the immediate and incrementally achievable solution to a noble and common cause and a mutually beneficial outcome for the present and future benefit of the people of Bathurst and regional NSW.
What do you think?
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