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http://www.theage.com.au/national/artdeco-landmark-lonsdale-house-to-be-bulldozed-20090727-dygh.html

Just bout to post the link up too! :(

Ugh, I can't believe that man is still a minister.

He's not a man in so much as he is a dunderhead. I saw him at the opening of the State of Design the other day: his whole demeanour is that of a person so far out of his depth that you can almost see the brain processes attempting to happen. And to think he wants to be Premier. If only Victoria had an opposition!

My thoughts on the new building in the moring: effectively, yet another shopping centre in Melbourne means more places for the chavs to congregate. The question has to be asked though: given it's next door to one of the most horrible McDonald's and appears to be a mirror of QV (ironic given it's opposite it) will it attract any new shoppers, or will they simply cross the road from QV in confusion?

Art deco treasure a casualty of CBD battle - article in The Age focusing more on the department store battle.

It's funny how they talk about biggest floor size and biggest spend; how about spending some of that cash on desirable product and customer service?

Having lived in Perth, I now understand why MYER is still in business... One word: Bogans.

If you use Twitter please retweet this http://twitter.com/fashionising/statuses/2887848566 just to remind Heritage Victoria that 90 year old men are less impotent than them.

The Windsor's new life
Posted by: Luca Gonano and Cameron Houston

Melbourne's historic Windsor Hotel will undergo a massive transformation with a contentious 25-storey tower behind the original facade likely to stir up public debate.

The proposal by Indonesian-owned Halim Group would also include the partial demolition of the former Hard Rock Cafe on Bourke Street as part of a $260 million refurbishment.

Prominent architects Denton Corker Marshall to design the building, which stands opposite Parliament House, with the upgrade due to include 150 new hotel rooms.

Windsor Hotel chief executive David Perry said the owners of the heritage-listed hotel had worked closely with Heritage Victoria over the past three years and were committed to restoring the 126-year-old hotel to its former grandeur.

The National Trust has thwarted two previous attempts to redevelop the iconic hotel known as the "Duchess of Spring Street".

The Hamer government was forced to buy the hotel in 1976 after businessman Gordon Barton planned Melbourne's first casino on the site. In 1990, the Cain government rejected plans by a Cayman Islands syndicate to transform the hotel into a boutique department store.

In 2005, the Halim Group and local developer Andrew Garrisson paid $37 million for the hotel. Mr Garrisson was recently bought out by Halim.

Fail, Fail, FAIL.

Who would have thought that you could buy the last Grand hotel in Australia, and surround it with glass abortion and a box that's as ugly as the brutal 60s building already in its place?



I have to hand it to the blow ins behind the development: they've sure hired the right PR guys to make sure this happens. They're blitzing the media with how Australian they are and how this is a true-blue decision that will save the hotel. They ought to know that money and PR can't buy class and culture.

If they didn't like the way it was, they've shouldn't have pulled out their chequebooks. The Windsor is one of the most important heritage elements of this city, and owning is a privilege not an opportunity to visually rape it in favour of making a quick buck.

Oh apparently it will also feature a floating glass facade.

Here's an example:



If they want to build a glass tower they should go to the docklands.