Sydney Opera House conservation plan

–91–posters advertising coming attractions are an appropriatepart of the ambience of a performing arts centre. Itis, however, necessary to ensure that the manner ofpresentation is in keeping with the character of thespace.Policy 45.3 Any poster mounting for the Box OfficeFoyer and Vehicle Concourse should be designed tocomplement the character of the surrounding fabric.Some visual system of sponsor identification may berequired for particular events. Because of the widerange of technical and artistic innovation now available,it is impractical to prescribe arbitrary rules.Policy 45.4 Temporary sponsor identification isacceptable in spaces of exceptional significance inwhich an event takes place provided the identificationis competently prepared, modest enough in size so as tohave minimal adverse impact on the character of spaceand removable without damage to fabric.SignsIn 1973 the Opera House and its surroundings were fitted with a coordinatedfamily of signs. Twenty-five years later, that co-ordinationneeds to be re-established to ensure that existing and proposed signsare relevant, necessary and of appropriate character and quality. InAugust 1993, for example, the vehicle concourse presented typographicaland symbolic information in over twenty (contrasting) forms. Theoriginal alloy and perspex signs within the podium present a differentproblem. They were developed as a handsome and homogeneousfamily, visually appropriate to their “Wobbly Land” domain, but,because of the expense of altering their message, they are graduallybecoming redundant.67a Banners on the Tarpeian Cliff face.JSK photograph 98.8.12.Policy 46.1 A sign manual should be prepared (or brought up to date)to guide the design of new signs. These should be either identical orcomplementary in character and quality to the original signs in thatpart of the building.Policy 46.2 Originals signs should be retained and, where necessary, away found to make them serviceable.Policy 46.3 Exterior signs should be kept to the minimum and, as faras possible, given common design and graphic characteristics.Policy 46.4 Guidance for the design of corporate and sponsorshipbanners and method of fixing should be included in the sign manual.Door furnitureNumbersAll doors throughout the building were numbered, catalogued andhave a range of finishes and performance attributes. Acoustic doors, forexample, were veneered in white birch or laminated brush box. Thedesign, material and method of application of the door numbers varywith the type of door and are an important part of its character and thespace in which it is set. Brush box doors have engraved and filledbronze plates and white birch doors have cut-out metal numbers(fig.69). Adhesion of the latter has not been good and some numbers68. One example of a family of metaland perspex signs used on the wobblyareas in 1973. Some have been fixedupside down, allowing them to becometransparent receptacles for rubbish. JSKphotograph 93.8.17.