Housing and Queer Heritage: In the media

Dr James Lesh, founding director of Heritage Workshop has been in the media providing conservation insights.

LGBTQIA+ Heritage at Oxford Street, Sydney,

James spoke to backchat on FBi Radio about Sydney's Oxford Street LGBTQIA+ Heritage Study.

The Oxford Street heritage study seeks to update and newly recognise 23 LGBTQIA+ sites.

Typically, local heritage has focused on architectural styles – like Victorian, Federation, modernist housing and shopping streets. By instead taking a thematic and people-centred approach, this new Oxford Street queer study renews the relevance of heritage.

It's exciting for local protections to be protecting a community of places.

Repurposing Heritage Buildings

James also spoke with the ABC about restoring old large heritage buildings and putting them to use for housing:

If there are large mansions or large unused heritage buildings that could be repurposed for housing, I think that would be a fantastic outcome for them.

The best heritage building is one which has a use.

From a heritage perspective, there's a number of ideas we can draw from past forms of housing and living styles.

Read more: “Why experts say repurposing heritage buildings could help address Australia's housing crisis”, ABC News, 15 February 2025.

Loss of a Loved Bungalow in Reservoir

James spoke with News.com.au about the demolition of a Californian Bungalow in Reservoir in Melbourne.

The house on Thackeray Road in Reservoir is a lovely older home with tremendous potential/

But it’s not in great condition for modern living and doesn’t have heritage protections, so it can be demolished.

It’s the sort of house we find in many established Australian suburbs: early twentieth-century, a rift on the bungalow, large block, appreciated by the neighbours, and ripe for redevelopment.

Redevelopment does not have to mean either demolition or restoration. We can design new townhouses that keep the special features of these lovely older homes, while taking advantage of the larger block to densify housing

This way we can both retain suburban character and address housing needs.

Read more: “City divided over 100-year-old heritage home in Melbourne’s north”, News.com.au, 6 April 2025.