Future uncertain for former Forestry Tasmania building

An award-winning architectural project set to be partially demolished for the new Tasmania Police headquarters at Melville St will now not go ahead.

Tasmania Police will not be moving into the former Forestry Tasmania atrium in Bathurst St. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

AN award-winning architectural project set to be partially demolished for the new Tasmania Police headquarters at Melville St has won a last minute reprieve.

Tasmania Police was set to occupy the dome building, the former home of Forestry Tasmania.

But a State Government spokesman said, after some investigation, both Tasmania Police and the owners of the building mutually agreed that it would be best for both parties not to enter into any lease agreement.

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“Tasmania Police is looking at other options and will remain at 47 Liverpool St for the time being,” he said.

In February, the Hobart City Council was forced to reluctantly approve an application to demolish part of the building because there were no grounds under the planning scheme to refuse it.

Internal works, including removal of the internal forest, had already happened.

Architect Robert Morris-Nunn won multiple awards for the adaptive architecture linking two heritage-listed buildings to form the Forestry Tasmania offices in the 1990s, complete with internal forest.

Architect Robert Morris-Nunn is devastated that the works at the former Forestry offices would profoundly alter the building. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

But the alterations were not added to the heritage listing for the site, which at the time left Prof Morris-Nunn devastated that the works would profoundly alter the building.

Prof Morris-Nunn yesterday said the Institute of Architects was working with Heritage Tasmania to have important recycling projects such as this one included in the heritage listings and hoped the internal forest could be restored.

“My position, and that of the institute, is that where important additions and alterations occur that give a new life to the building then these alterations become part of the fabric of that building and part of the cultural history that gets handed to the next generation,” he said.

The building won the Australasian Lightweight Structures Award 1998, a number of Tasmanian awards and was a finalist in the 1998 National Architecture Awards.

Hobart Deputy Lord Mayor Helen Burnet, who in February described the development application before the council for the site as a considerable shame, said the original joining of those buildings should be recognised as “an important part of Tasmanian architectural history”.