COLIN NICHOL is a member of the Fremantle Society’s development committee. In this week’s THINKING ALLOWED he despairs of an effectively sympathetic design for the former Myer building on Kings Square.

According to what has recently been published in the Herald and elsewhere, the façade of the latest representation of a building proposed to replace the former Myer (now MYRE) building seems to have been chosen by mistake. Perhaps papers on someone’s desk got shuffled and the wrong one popped out.

Surely that must be the explanation why apparently, from what has so far been published, none of very prominent comments over the last couple of years from the public and from the heritage lobby of an historical city, seems to have had any discernable impact upon its design. Instead, it repeats errors of its predecessor drawings, those since discarded under pressure of critical assessment.

It is a face that does not look at its neighbours, nor acknowledge where it is located, it is important with self-regard. It is necessary to direct a gaze that seems, surrounded with blinds, to be blind to its surrounds. That seeming advertisement for “verticals” does present an improvement on the horizontal planes of the immediate previous proposed façade and thus helps alleviate bulk, but a rare opportunity has again been disdained.

Mis-located

It is difficult to credit that once more a design should appear that it itself, while being so excellent, should be so mis-located. True, by attrition there are only two significant buildings in Kings Square—the Town Hall and St John’s Church, but their number does not diminish their significance; they are a major focus of the city’s heritage and image of the city.

Facing west as the building does, the frontage must self-evidently account for the impact of the sun by its design and clever use of screening by vertical blinds, as this one does, but the overall stark impact would be a jarring intrusion of the mellowness of this focal point of the city centre. Architectural contrast is not an excuse in itself.

From present indications, it can be assumed that the entire Kings Square project remains “a work not quite in progress”. It is indeed most likely to be several years or more before this key building achieves whatever ultimate function may be in store, beyond its present brief incarnation as a short-term retail and entertainment venue. But to delay comment only encourages design by default.

Victorian era

The square was Victorian era from shortly after its creation and that heritage remains in its historical buildings – the town hall and the church in the English neo-Gothic style of those times.

Between those two, there are enough hints for the design of a new addition to the square to blend or at least not intrude, while still making a statement. That’s the point, statement should not override location; given the building’s bulk, it already dominates, the challenge is to make it float.

The rest of the square’s intended new buildings are to be designed by the winner of a wide-reaching competition, now closing toward judging time, so there is the additional consideration that there should be some sympathy in design guidelines between those and the Myer site.

That the style of architecture of one should clash with that of the other and each with heritage as well, would result in a mis-matched melange the city could be a long time regretting.