Is heritage a constraint or a commercial asset? For developers in Melbourne, "Adaptive Reuse" is driving higher rents and better tenant retention. From the "embodied energy" benefits of keeping existing brickwork to the planning incentives offered by Councils (like height bonuses and parking reductions), discover why heritage buildings are outperforming glass boxes. Learn how Heritage Workshop helps developers balance conservation with commercial viability in creative office

Dr James Lesh reviews Fiona Gatt’s "Old North Melbourne," exploring how deep archival research recovers the complex nineteenth-century history of this inner-Melbourne suburb.

This is what you need to know before you pick up a brush to paint your heritage home. Restoring or modernising your property’s exterior is a standard part of homeownership, but when heritage controls apply, a simple weekend job can quickly become a complex planning issue. In Victoria, most heritage homes fall under a municipial Heritage Overlay (HO) , administered through your local council or shire's planning scheme. If your property is within a Heritage Overlay and the sche

Over two years, Heritage Workshop contributed across the development of the newly adopted City of Melbourne Heritage Strategy 2026. Read how our Next-Generation Conservation approach established the core framework for managing the municipality's diverse heritage.

Integrating expert heritage advice de-risks your project and streamlines your planning permit application.

Following a recent talk, we examine the data, physical challenges, and shifting public perceptions of Victoria’s postwar architectural legacy.

Heritage works best as a shared local project from day one. Community engagement needs to occur alongside technical heritage overlay reviews.

Living in a Heritage Overlay in Victoria doesn't mean you can't renovate. It simply manages how change happens. Learn the rules for extensions, second storeys, and demolition under the Victoria Planning Provisions. We explain what "contributory" means, how to design concealed additions, and why you don't need to panic about internal controls. Read our guide for homeowners on navigating heritage constraints in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Presenting a complex heritage case using only general planning principles is a risk. Learn how partnering with a specialist heritage consultant de-risks applications and secures permits.

Discretion in local heritage planning must be based on comprehensive, robust and evidence-based heritage advice. In parallel, homeowners benefit from engaging their own heritage advisors, because this enables a fuller case to be put to council – and VCAT – when discretion is exercised.

Across our projects, Heritage Workshop offers analytical and evidence-based perspectives towards a new consensus for housing and heritage.

Step closer, look deeper. What heritage stories lie within the bricks and mortar of our suburbs, streets, and homes? Too often, heritage is seen as static and frozen in time, and yet it is ever progressing and dynamic, with a rich tapestry of concealed histories below the surface. Let us examine the evolving lenses through which we have conserved our local heritage. The conservation of local heritage can be divided into three distinct historical periods: proto protections (19

Heritage Workshop contributes to the Inquiry into Victoria Planning Provisions.

Reflecting on Carlton and Fitzroy's diverse heritage, from high-rise social housing to creative warehouse conversions, we can reimagine heritage practices.

How do heritage places manage advertising? James Lesh on recent debates at Fed Square.

In the current planning, social and cultural climate, heritage needs to evolve. Let's look to history for guidance.

An extract from James Lesh's book 'Values in Cities' on the founding of the Australian National Trusts.

While it might make an irresistible newspaper headline, a single sentence cannot get a house heritage protected.

Heritage Workshop's submission to the new Plan For Victoria.

James Lesh writes about policy opportunities for strengthening Canberra's role in urban heritage matters.

James Lesh's 'Values in Cities: Urban Heritage in Twentieth-Century Australia' a new book, has been released.

I am making a written submission on the relationship between cultural heritage and the national urban policy. Positively, the national...

An extract from James Lesh's book 'Values in Cities' on values-based conservation, both where it's come from, and where it's heading.

James Lesh reviews Cities in a Sunburnt Country for the Urban History Review/Revue d’histoire urbaine.