Sydney Opera House conservation plan

–42–The area covered by this conservation plan is the Sydney Opera Houseprecinct on Bennelong Point, north of the site perimeter from SydneyCove to Farm Cove along the northern ends of East Circular Quay andMacquarie Street, the Tarpeian cliff face and the Botanic Gardenfences. The terms used to identify parts of the building and itssurroundings are usually those specified in the Department of PublicWorks and Services Sydney Opera House Asset Management Program.References to a specific fabric or space may be found in the index.The following definitions taken from the Australia ICOMOS Charter forthe Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (Burra Charter), asrevised in 1999, have been used.Fabric means all the physical material of the place, includingcomponents, fixtures, contents and objects.Conservation means all the processes of looking after aplace so as to retain its cultural significance.Maintenance means the continuous protective care of thefabric and setting of a place, and is to be distinguishedfrom repair. Repair involves restoration or reconstruction.Preservation means maintaining the fabric of a place in itsexisting state and retarding deterioration.Restoration means returning the existing fabric of a placeto a known earlier state by removing accretions or byreassembling existing components without the introductionof new material.Reconstruction means returning a place to a knownearlier state and is distinguished from restoration by theintroduction of new material into the fabric.Compatible use means a use which respects the cultural significanceof a place. Such a use involves no, or minimal, impact oncultural significance.29. Sketch plan showing areacovered by conservation plan.JSK 1998.The 1999 version of the Charter redefines adaptation as ‘modifying aplace to suit the existing use or a proposed use.’ In so doing theconcept of compatibility has been lost, so the original definition hasbeen retained here as it is consistent with the intent of the Charter.Adaptation means modifying a place to suit proposedcompatible uses.The Sydney Opera House is a complex establishment with complexproblems and solutions. Policies and explanations dealing with aparticular issue will be found at more than one place and use of theindex will help identify the relevant locations. However, initially atleast, a reading of the entire policy section is strongly recommended.