Why are there giant blank walls everywhere in Braddon?
We spoke to an architect, a developer and the government to find out.
What is the character of Canberra? The ‘bush capital’, red brick, roundabouts? Increasingly it seems concrete slabs are in. Giant blank walls have been appearing on the Braddon skyline for some time and we wanted to know why?
Sean Hogan has been an architect for over 15 years and worked on many multi-residential and mixed-use precincts over his time, including Founders Lane and Siena Apartments in Campbell, so he is the perfect person to shed some light on the stark concrete faces of Braddon and why they are popping up.
“The idea of a partition wall is that it’s like the suburban fence between two houses. It becomes a barrier between two separate buildings. ”
Developers use these walls for a number of reasons:
It allows them to build right up to the boundary of the block, therefore maximising the space and number of units they can sell.
They are also mandated to some extent by building codes to prevent health and safety issues like fire and sound traveling into neighbouring complexes.
In some cases, they are structural and hold up parts of the building.
Concrete slabs are also a very cheap and efficient building material and can be made off-site.
As Braddon’s landscape shifts from functional businesses such as mechanics and auto traders to cafés, boutiques and multi-story apartments these walls are still visible between the contrasting buildings. The question is how long will they be exposed and what could be done to make them more attractive in the meantime?
Branx wall overlooking 80/20 cafe
Yamaroshi wall overlooking 42 Mort Street Some of the neighbouring blocks show no sign of development so it could be years before they are hidden. Some like 42 Mort Street which sold for $5.3mil in 2019 (next to the Yamaroshi wall) have lodged proposals to demolish their single-story buildings, so we could see that site developed soon and the wall hidden.
Sean Hogan is doing his PHD in what makes up the character of Canberra places. While he doesn’t think these walls are a problem in the long term, wider questions about the gentrification of Braddon and whether it’s changing the character of Canberra for better or worse.
“Is this character of Braddon a natural character or is it a character that has been provided by the developer and now taken up by the citizens?”
WATCH
Take the blank walls of Braddon video tour with Sean
More insights into Braddon’s changing architecture
Nik Bulum is the Creative Director at the Bulum Group and has been actively trying to get artworks up on a number of their developments' blank boundary walls. Bulum Group’s projects include many of Braddon’s new dual commercial and residential developments including Branx, Yamaroshi, Palko and NIBU. All feature blank walls still exposed.
In the early days Bulum was instrumental in bringing people to the streets of Braddon through the Lonsdale St Traders and The Hamlet. So we asked if his company would now be open to bringing art to the streets through these walls and he confirmed that “Yes, we are for it”.
NIBU wall overlooking Lonsdale St RoastersNik Bulum has previously attempted to get artwork done on the southside of NIBU only to be blocked by the neighbours. Any external art on a boundary wall requires approval and the owners of the adjacent block wouldn't allow it. Interestingly an artwork by an acclaimed artist could cause issues for a future neighbouring development as it could prohibit them from ever covering it up out of cultural or historical value (though there are ways to avoid this).
Despite the fact that the long term intention is for these walls to be covered up, some of them could be exposed for a long time.
Branx North Wall
16 Lonsdale St, Development Application, planning.act.gov.auThe north facing wall of Branx, for example, could be there for 20+ years according to Nik, as the neighbouring building consists of separate title units and unlikely to be developed any time soon, so Bulum Group is keen to explore creative options for walls like that.
Another block adjacent to two blank walls is the Telstra Exchange site which extends from Mort St to Lonsdale St. There are currently no plans to redevelop that block, and it’s still being used by Telstra so it’s another site that could face years of blank design.
Telstra Exchange site 
Student Achitect @a.eversons.design developed a plan for the Telstra site to keep the bones and character of the building while avoiding blank walls.One of the biggest hurdles to injecting some colour into the city is the amount of stakeholders on any given site. Body corporates, developers, the City Renewal Authority as well as Braddon businesses would all potentially need to sign off on any proposal. Lisa Petheram oversees graffiti and street art management for the ACT government and says quite a few artists and other groups have expressed interest in utilising the walls but any large-scale project may be required to apply through a commission process or go through a selection panel to decide designs.
“It is not impossible, it would just involve a great deal of planning, consultation, negotiation, the right timing and helpful advice.”
Transport Canberra and City Services recent project at the abandoned PCYC buildingOther things to consider are access for lifts and anchor points, how long the walls will be exposed for before adjoining developments occur and whether it would be worth the effort. Lisa hopes that, if it is logistically possible, we could see one piece commissioned later this year in Braddon.
Nik Bulum is working on commissioning artists to do works on walls that face into his developments where he has more control. The internal driveway walls of Branx and Palko are on the cards.
Over time these walls will fade into the Braddon skyline but there is an opportunity to temporarily inject a bit of creativity and life into the area, leaving a lasting impact and maybe help maintain some of that Canberra character.
Update 19 November 2021
Nearly one year since our first story on the Blank Walls of Braddon we have an update. The blank walls are starting to fall. As part of the Surface festival happening in March next year Phibs and Bradley Eastman have teamed up to paint the wall overlooking the Telstra Exchange Building on Lonsdale Street.
This wall was made possible by City Renewal Authority who partnered with Surface Festival and local building owners to add a bit of colour to the landscape.
Developer and owner Stavro Dascarolis said because the building is privately owned they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted without having to answer to body corporates or planning red tape. He said it was perfect timing and an easy decision to do something on the wall when Surface Festival proposed the project.
We can expect to see the artwork standing for a long time with no plans to develop the neighboring Telstra site. Another wall on Nibu is also slated to be painted during the festival next year which is hosted by the ACT Government.
What would you like to see on the blank walls of Braddon?
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Photos by Bailey Philippe
