Town Hall now green, safe and gorgeous
Town Hall, that heritage icon of Sydney’s gentrified governance, used to be a firetrap. The entrance foyer, for instance, formed the base of a multi-storey atrium, finished in wood and sporting a wooden spiral staircase, that could have become a vortex of flame consuming the very means of escape for anyone caught in its upper reaches.
Now a custom-made, irregular octagonal glass dome seals the foyer but unless you were looking for it, you might not notice it was there.
It’s the same with the sprinkler system now networking the ornate rooms and vaults of the grand old building – you have to really look to see the cream-white discs set into the cream-white ceilings.
The work cost $40 million, took 23 months and is the first serious upgrade of Town Hall since the 1930s. “Welcome back to Town Hall rewired,” quipped Lord Mayor Clover Moore at last week’s media event before noting that the project had been completed on-time, on-budget with only one day lost through safety concerns. Not one submission from the public had been received while the Development Application was on exhibition.
It looks stunning. The main Concert Hall, its vestibule and surrounding corridors now sport fine gold-leaf and duck-egg blue highlights on the filigreed plasterwork, testament to the expertise of the specialist trades teams whose pride in their work is obvious in the result. Two new stairways flank the terraced choir area at the rear of the main stage, providing emergency exits for audience in the balcony stalls.
Ten per cent of the black-and-white Italian marble floor tiles were replaced with tiles sourced from Victoria. They too will be indistinguishable from the originals when they have bourn the weight and scrape of many feet.
Lower Town Hall, venue for Sydney’s famous Arts Balls in the 1930s and 40s, has also been refitted as a venue and exhibition space.
A green revolution has brought Town Hall into the energy-efficient future with new solar panels that can generate 48 kilowatts, climate control and water recycling recycling systems both 30 per cent more efficient than previously, and low-energy lighting.
The gleaming goods lift is big enough to carry a Mercedes Benz, we were told, or as Clover Moore corrected, a Toyota Prius (Town Hall’s preferred fleet vehicle).
While the revamped spaces are already hosting major functions, the building will officially re-open to the public on the weekend of 5–7 March, with free gala events all weekend including two music concerts, an exhibition of ‘Unvaulted’ Town Hall artefacts, and building tours.
The work was Stage one of a five-year rescue plan. Stage two will address damaged and weathered stonework in the façade, starting with the Clock Tower.
by Michael Gormly
