The article does not mention it, but it is believed that Bob Carr was unimpressed with the architectural designs of highrise residential blocks in his electorate of Maroubra and wanted standards raised.
Some residential buildings were even designed by non-architects.
Source: Skelsey, M. "Ban on shoeboxes: Changes to stop 'lousy' unit plans". The Daily Telegraph, October 21: 7.
This led to the passing of legislation in 2002. Under Section 65 of the State Environmental Planning Policy - Design Quality of Residential Flat Development. It meant that a registered architect could only design a residential building.
As we move towards two decades since the legislation has passed, and the results to the average person would appear to be mixed. Broadly speaking, there has been a general improvement in the terms of the architectural design of residential buildings in Sydney, particularly in the Sydney CBD and inner suburbs. As for suburban Sydney, it varies. In some suburbs, I have noticed that highrise buildings built in the past decade architecturally are more appealing than those built in the 2000s. I look at Rockdale for instance and have noticed an increase in the architectural standard of some of the unit blocks.
Even with this law, there are unit blocks that architecturally are not appealing to the eye, and tend to be in the outer suburbs, where the focus is on profit over quality. I think councils in suburbs further out may need to work on improving standards for architectural design.
There were critics that argue that architectural quality means higher house prices. I will concede that this is true, but sometimes we need to consider this cost in terms of providing quality streetscapes in which the buildings will shape, along with making a home as livable as it can be.
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