Sydney Opera House conservation plan

–89–HOUSEKEEPINGAny large establishment has to guard against slipping standardsof housekeeping and an organisation that doubles asa major international tourist landmark and a famousperforming arts centre needs to be particularly vigilant. It isthe aggregation of minor expediencies that becomes sodamaging to the presentation of a place. A regime of goodhousekeeping is vital.In 1999, some respondents to the interim conservation planremarked on the increasingly untidy presentation of theOpera House and its immediate setting. For example, theEngineering Heritage Committee commented on the ‘objectionableodours and vapours’ from the restaurant service areas, the ‘spillage andconsequent staining’ of paving at places like the western broadwalkvehicle dock and from temporary stalls and outdoor entertainments onthe broadwalk and forecourt. The Committee also pointed out theparking of waste bins and motor cycles against the east end of thegrand podium steps and the erection of ‘tacky’ decorations in keyspaces (IE Aust., Sydney Division, Comments on Interim Conservation Plan, 10.9.1998, p.2). Alsoin 1997 and ’98 three large shipping containers were parked in theforecourt and the enclave they create was used to hold equipment andmaterials (fig.65).65. Long stay ‘temporary’ storage in theforecourt of the Sydney Opera House atthe time of the replacement of the broadwalkpaving. JSK photograph 98.8.0.Policy 43.1 All items that need not be stored on the Opera House siteshould be stored elsewhere, or disposed of, and consideration should begiven to providing concealed facilities for items that it is essential toretain on site.Within the building the fixings and detritus of past entertainments, andsponsors’ and hirers’ advertising, were fixed to walls. Notice boardsobscured the drama of piers supporting the roof shells and souvenir saleswamped the information desk in the box office foyer. ‘Temporary’power and light cabling proliferated over the years obeying only thelaws of economy and expediency. In the northern foyer the spaghettiof cabling along the glass wall ring beam was joined by a disco globecable hanging from the brush box rump of the concert hall.Spaces seen by the public through glass walls and windows should bekept shipshape. Similarly repair work in unseen spaces (particularlybetween the inner shells of the major auditoria and the roof shells)should be followed by the meticulous removal of leftover material.While this is primarily a fire hazard, any such careless housekeepinghas a potential for major heritage loss.Policy 43.2 Staff should be trained and given the resources to ensurethat an appropriate housekeeping regime is in place and supervised. Itshould eliminate practices (and hirers) that may:• spoil or obscure the character of the place;• damage fabric;• require cleaning methods that are in turn damaging.Policy 43.3 A simple pamphlet should be prepared setting out theconditions and restrictions applicable to the hire or use of each venue.