ordinary meeting of council to be held on tuesday, 26 april 2005 at ...

Ordinary Meeting <strong>of</strong> Council - 26 April 2005 21 / 18
26 <strong>to</strong> 30 Marian Street, Killara
Item 21
DA1243/04
18 April 2005
Heritage
Conclusion and recommendations
This is an acceptable design in that it complies almost entirely with relevant development
controls. It also meets the design guidelines in the SEPP 65 Residential Flat Design Code.
It is recommended that the external colours complement the natural setting with mid-<strong>to</strong>nal
range colours.’
Council’s Heritage Advisor has commented on the proposal as follows:
‘The application proposes demolition <strong>of</strong> three existing houses and construction <strong>of</strong> a new
residential flat building. The existing houses are all single s<strong>to</strong>rey and make a positive
contribution <strong>to</strong> the streetscape in terms <strong>of</strong> scale, materials, variety in exterior textures, styles,
subdivision pattern and their mature gardens. No 26 would date <strong>to</strong> the post WW2 period, No
28 is a Sydney School house c1970 and No 30 is a reasonable example <strong>of</strong> an Inter War
Georgian Revival house. None <strong>of</strong> the houses have <strong>be</strong>en identified as potential heritage items,
but they do have contribu<strong>to</strong>ry value <strong>to</strong> the streetscape and National Trust UCA. I do not
oppose demolition, but recommend recording <strong>to</strong> the Heritage Council guidelines for local
significance.
The proposed new residential flat building is designed in two main blocks with a linking
element setback from both front and rear elevations. It is set down almost one s<strong>to</strong>rey from the
Marian Street level but due <strong>to</strong> the fall in Caithness Street the southern end is about 2metes
above the ground level. There is an existing s<strong>to</strong>ne retaining wall at the boundary <strong>of</strong> the site
with the house at 2 Caithness which would help <strong>to</strong> visually reduce the impact <strong>of</strong> the additional
height and the car park entrance in Caithness Street.
The building is well articulated with horizontal and vertical elements and the pattern <strong>of</strong>
balconies and terraces braking up the facades. The <strong>to</strong>p floor is set back in line with DCP 55
and contains only 3 large dwellings. I note that the layout and planning <strong>of</strong> the individual
dwellings is satisfac<strong>to</strong>ry and note the larger dwellings would reach the amenity <strong>of</strong> many
houses in Ku-ring-gai. The pitched ro<strong>of</strong> is a form typical <strong>of</strong> the area, but does increase the
overall height <strong>of</strong> the building. Due <strong>to</strong> the large terraces and smaller floor areas, the higher
ro<strong>of</strong> would not <strong>be</strong> a dominant element in the street. The building is contemporary but has a
formality about it that would assist its fit within the existing streetscape and UCA. The
colours chosen are fairly neutral – grey and <strong>be</strong>ige. I suggest that earthy recessive colours
would <strong>be</strong> <strong>be</strong>tter <strong>to</strong> provide more visual interest and further break the bulk and scale <strong>of</strong> the
facades. I also suggest a different texture at the lower level such as a face brick or s<strong>to</strong>ne
cladding.
There are several heritage items within the immediate vicinity including:
33 Marian Street – Griffin design.
39 Marian Street – large Federation period house.
1 Caithness Street – low Georgian Revival Inter War house.
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