Architect Defends His `cheese-grater'
The Sunday Age
Sunday March 9, 2003
Architect Ivan Rijavec designed the NKYA building, often referred to as the ``cheese-grater", and has ruffled some feathers in the Fitzroy community.
``Architects have been operating in a battleground," Mr Rijavec said. ``Owners in the area see every new development as a potential threat to their environment."
He described the NKYA building (it is enclosed by Napier, Kerr, Young and Argyle streets) as ``a contemporary contribution that knits in with the urban fabric . . . which wasn't driven by costs, budgets or maximising developer profits".
Mr Rijavec said the building embraced the latest sustainable design features and set a precedent for architecture in the area.
But Judy Morton, a member of the City of Yarra planning committee, said the building sets a precedent of a different kind.
She said the ``cheese-grater" will give property developers the green light to build apartment blocks with little regard for local character.
Mr Rijavec disagreed and said local government, especially the City of Yarra, sees Melbourne 2030 as a generalised strategy that doesn't necessarily apply to their area.
``There has been enormous resistance to increased population density from local councils, but because of urban sprawl and the soaring cost of infrastructure, it has become a State Government agenda," he said.
Mr Rijavec lives 800 metres from the proposed site and said ``the reason VCAT gave the project the nod was because it's perfectly suited to that particular precinct".
© 2003 The Sunday Age
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