HERITAGE INSIGHTS

When new architecture meets old in Sydney or Melbourne, the gap between them is never just empty space — it’s a design tool. A recess, screen, or setback makes it clear what is historic and what is new, allowing each to be understood on its own terms. Like a pause in music, separation gives weight to what comes before and after, encouraging reflection rather than confusion. Far from wasted space, these gaps honour history, sharpen design, and let contemporary interventions co

Ensuring that transition between significant fabric and an addition is vital to the success of a heritage project.

Managing Change, Not Freezing Time Municipal rules aren’t new. As The Past and Future City  (Stephanie Meeks and Kevin C. Murphy, 2016) reminds us, even ancient Assyria had planning edicts: If ever any person living in the city pulls down his old house and builds a new and the foundations of that house encroaches on the royal processional way, they shall hang that man upon a stake over his own house. By comparison, even the prickliest design review in Melbourne or regional Vi

Touring the Past is delighted to announce the opening of its Blue Mountain’s ‘field office’. This exciting news means we are able to...

Getting heritage pre-purchase advice is crucial if you plan to invest in a heritage property.

The heritage management system enacted by the NSW Heritage Act 1977 has matured alongside the ascendant economic creed of our era,...

What are they? Heritage conservation areas (or HCAs) appear across NSW’s physical and planning landscapes. An important heritage tool,...

How hard is it to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you – you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the...

In the second instalment of 'Notes from the field' Touring the Past is zeroing in on ‘heritage colours’. We have placed this term in...

Over the last few weeks Touring the Past has worked on a number of heritage projects involving subdivision. This is hardly surprising...

Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell - Seth Godin, marketing expert Touring the Past...

Over the past several years, urban consolidation agendas have made it far easier to gain approval to construct granny flats, studios, and...

'mitigation is probably the principal aim of the impact assessment process, especially if conservation involves managing, rather than...

'The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.' –...

Historic sites are not static antiquities - they are living institutions uniquely poised to address current issues while retaining their...