105 Miller Street North Sydney, NSW

I object strongly to the demolition of this heritage listed building- it has great lines, provides excellent setback & light access planes around it for public amenity.

The glass curtain wall is a classic of modern office or apartment block design & the upstairs balconies are elegant & functional. The tiled wall could be repaired - much of the damage area has been revealed with the demolition of the Spanish style plaza shopping centre to the north by the Metro project & that has increased exposure & weathering.

The shops below have always been well tenanted and a pleasant “high street” shopping experience. The vacancies now are due to leases being allowed to run out by the owner & uncertainty at the building’s future deterring a tenant investing in a lease & fitout. The area is highly trafficked as a transport hub & excellent for retail foot traffic.

I note the buildings younger smaller sibling is on the State heritage register in Adelaide, This indicates the significance of the building & it should be preserved, restored & maintained.

The interior was modernised less than 20 years ago to much acclaim with internal stairs and co working spaces created. It won awards and was a much visited site by many private & public organisation as a model for positive office refurbishment & layout changes to improve worker satisfaction & productivity.

All up it is a wonderful & significant building that should not be demolished simply to enable maximising floor space for a developer owner who appears over the pastor 2 to 3 years to have failed to maintain an excellent and significant building providibg a reasonable return, in order to have the excuse & claim of dilapidation to demolish a heritage building and claim a windfall profit over developing the site.

All the key features of the new proposed design are already provide led by the existing MLC building design including pedestrian and lift access and amenity and “activated retail” area - it will activate if the shops are let with prospective tenants confident that the building will not be demolished by the owners in the next 2 to 10 years. If the owners do not like the restrictions on the site, perhaps they should sell the building to a company that will look after, invest in & use the building & site appropriately & within heritage considerations.

The MLC building should be on the State Heritage register - its slimline & setback also reduce the wind tunnel effect that could do easily take over this section of the Miller St North Sydney CBD & make it entirely unattractive to the foot traffic everyone claims to want. It’s bulk & scale is perfect within the North Sydney CBD & makes a significant positive contribution to the streetscape & public amenity. The play of light on the fling & glass curtain wall is delightful to pedestrians and workers.

The bulky black new building behind it is an example of the kind of insensitive eyesore that the proposed replacement could render - maximum floor space, no character and visible because of its height from as far away as Rangers Ave Mosman &’Neutral Bay & does not contribite positively to skyline.

Please refuse the application to demolish & any redevelopment that damages the key heritage & aesthetic features of the magnificent MLC building.

Thank you for considering my submission

Kind regards

Georgina Taylor

I used to feel, as the Mayor has previously told journalists, that the MLC building had no merit in beauty or function. Since having worked in this building in 2001, I have regarded it as the most beautiful and functional building I have ever worked in. The flow, feel, light and function of this building is unsurpassed. I am not an architect, but I am an office worker and a many-times-over local (in between overseas stints). Other buildings I have worked in around the world include Goldfields House at Circular Quay overlooking Sydney Harbour from the 10th floor and UBS Asset Management Building overlooking Lake Zurich, the city of Zurich and the Swiss Alps. I have worked in Auckland; Melbourne; Perth; Piccadilly Circus and Cambridge Circus in Central London; at Paddington near little Venice; in Canary Wharf and London City; Nottingham; Amsterdam; and the 100th floor of a tower in Chicago. I have also worked in 6 other buildings in North Sydney, some with Harbour Views. I cannot imagine an office building as wonderful as the MLC building. Please, please don’t tear it down.

As a student in North Sydney in the 1950's I watched the MLC building grow as an astonishing landmark at the time. I believe it to be a significant heritage item in terms of the changing landscape of North Sydney and indeed for architecture in Australia. I am very much opposed to having it demolished and replaced - the soul of our suburb is as important as the efficiency of the new buildings. History reminds us of what was - a real sense of heritage. Please do not demolish.
Gillian Napper

I am really pleased that a number of buildings in North Sydney are undergoing re-development as we have some buildings which on the exterior belong very much to an era when architects weren't entrusted to be bold. 105 Miller has always stood out to me to be one that needed to be upgraded and when I read about the initial plans I was relieved and intrigued by the bold plans. However, with any new development in N Sydney -residential or commercial- I believe it imperative that ample parking is provided for tenants and visitors as there simply isn't sufficient on-street parking for existing tenants/residents. I fear this building will only add to the current parking issue. In addition, key to any new development should be what is it adding to the ambience and amenity of N Sydney, which has long remained a ghost town after hours and weekends. Again, from what I have seen, this building won't be a positive addition.