Dear Mr Ghale,
As a local architect, I was delighted when I heard of your decision to retain rather than demolish the Argus Building in La Trobe Street.
Having noticed yesterday that the building is presently being painted, I am very concerned that the minor works that are needed to repair the building's exterior are apparently not being undertaken.
Most importantly, the La Trobe Street section of the building in the the attached photograph (taken yesterday) is still missing its cornice, which seems to have been removed or damaged at some point. You can see the original cornice in another photo that I have attached, taken in 1959. Observe that the cornice is mirrored on the Elizabeth Street facade and creates a symmetry about the central tower. This is a very important and conspicuous detail.
You will also notice, looking at the Elizabeth Street facade, that the pairs of corbels that sat under the cornice are also missing from the building in its present state.
These are small details and relatively inexpensive to repair (these sorts of decorative mouldings can often be pre-fabricated using light-weight composite materials), so I presume they have simply been overlooked rather than omitted on budget grounds.
I urge you to discuss these minor repairs with the designers you have engaged on this project; they require relatively little work but will dramatically improve the quality and character of this prominent Melbourne street corner for decades to come.
Yours sincerely,
Evan Meagher
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| Exhibit B |
In the reply I received it was pointed out to me that I'd written 'Lonsdale' instead of 'La Trobe', which I have amended here to avoid future confusion. To summarise the reply, the repairs I mention were considered, but found to be too expensive. Any additional work to the exterior of the building will be undertaken at a later date, if viable.
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