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.

Dr James Lesh explores the challenges of preserving modern heritage in 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.

Dr Lesh provided expert commentary on the significance of Melbourne’s postwar high-rise towers, noting that the current "knock down and rebuild" approach risks erasing a defining layer of the city's social and architectural history.

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.

Population projections call for over two million new homes across Victoria in the next 30 years. Denser housing models of all types, homes that are well designed and connected to daily needs are required to address this challenge – but how do these pressing needs intersect with the heritage values of our existing cities and suburbs?  The Housing Committee of the Victorian Chapter of the AIA have collected diverse housing projects from across Victoria that demonstrate successf

Heritage Workshop contributes to the Inquiry into Victoria Planning Provisions.

As part of the Australian Heritage Festival 2025, Heritage Workshop + Andever are hosting a free walking tour event in Melbourne.

Join Heritage Workshop and an esteemed panel for this Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Australian Heritage Festival Event.

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

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...

Over recent months, I’ve provided expert commentary to media outlets in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide .

Check out Heritage Workshop's latest project: our contribution to the City of Melbourne Heritage Strategy.

Adopting new perspectives won’t only preserve our historic buildings and places by enabling us to shape them for today’s needs. It will also mean urban heritage can contribute to cities becoming more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

In this episode, PlanningxChange delves into the history of heritage conservation in Australia.

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra raises significant questions about the management of Indigenous heritage values in Australia.

Corkman Pub, now demolished A few media interviews for radio, print and podcasts: ‘People-Centred Heritage Conservation’, ABC Radio, 11...