Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2021–2026
Appendix H: Condition of values — detailAppendix H: Condition of values — details and methodology
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Appendix H: Condition of values – details and methodology
The July 2020 assessment of the condition of values for Old Parliament House and Curtilage was prepared by an external party.
Previous assessments
The 2013 condition assessment determined that Old Parliament House displayed a Fair condition and a Medium level of integrity. However, the assessment noted that such general statements do not account for the varied level of condition and integrity throughout the large and complex building.
The previous 2007 and 2013 assessments contain some source information (see Tables 1–3), but in most cases no source is noted. This indicates that the consultant relied on visual inspections and knowledge of the place.
The 2020 assessment builds on the same approach, but includes a greater level of detail where it could be provided and confirmed by Old Parliament House staff with corporate knowledge and access to relevant source material.
Condition and integrity assessment criteria
The itemised assessment of the condition and integrity is divided into three categories:
Table 1: Fabric (the physical place)
Table 2: Historical associations
Table 3: Contemporary associations.
Two different types of analysis are used to assess the condition and integrity of heritage values: a significant heritage fabric assessment and an assessment of the Commonwealth and National Heritage values themselves.
The assessment criteria for condition and integrity are presented below. The following analysis of Old Parliament House uses the 2007 and 2013 assessments and is based on the State of the Environment guidelines for assessing the condition of heritage places.103
The terminology in the following tables has been updated from the 2007 and 2013 condition assessments to use broader terms in order to balance the assessments of both the physical and intangible heritage values.
| Condition criteria | Definition |
|---|---|
| Good | A site, or place, has its important features well maintained. A building is structurally sound, weather tight, and no significant repair is needed. Internally, walls, floor and joinery are well maintained. |
| Fair | A site, or place, retains its important features, including landscape elements, vegetation, associated movable objects etc, but these are in need of conservation action and maintenance. A building, or place, is structurally sound, but there is evidence of inadequate maintenance and it is in need of repair. For example, internally, walls, floors or joinery are in need of conservation and minor repair such as painting, etc. |