Animation Research founder Sir Ian Taylor spoke to the Otago Daily Times about the restoration work on his offices at 8 Dowling St, also known as Garrison Hall, a category 1 Heritage New Zealand building.
Dunedin had taken a lot of pride in the design of its buildings, he said.
"This was originally the major commercial centre in the country, and the buildings of that era [that remain] reflect that.
"The whenua isn’t just about the place, it’s about everything that happened in it.
"I walk into this building and feel all the different uses of it — the heritage that comes out of it is real."
He would not have been able to experience that but for the restoration work of William Cockerill, he said.
He was speaking at a Business South workshop on heritage values ahead of the Dunedin City Council’s discussions on its long-term plan.
Business South chief executive Mike Collins said the advocacy group wanted heritage to be viewed from an economic development perspective.
"It’s about saving our history and past to secure the future."
The workshop comes as public opposition is being voiced to a proposal to knock down a 103-year-old Edmund Anscombe-designed house in Stuart St, and a protected 100-year-old tree beside it.
A multistorey residential complex with about 30 apartments has been proposed for the site by the applicant, Elim Group.
Sir Ian said there needed to be a conversation about how to use the city’s built heritage.
"I think we have to really understand why a building has to be saved, and its purpose."
Vogel St was a very good example of living heritage, he said.
"It would have been so much easier just to rip through Vogel St and create a mall-like area, which actually would get bowled in the future because they have no heritage at all.
"Instead, what’s been done has safeguarded Vogel St for a very long time."
There was a risk of "demolition by neglect" if buildings no longer had a use which fitted the character of the area, he said.
"A heritage building isn’t just what’s outside; it’s not just about the design.
Southern Heritage Trust chairwoman Jo Galer agreed about the need for Dunedin to make heritage reuse a priority.
"It’s a worldwide trend which is very popular and incredibly green.
"The greenest building is the one that is reused."
The proposal to replace the 103-year-old Edmund Anscombe-designed house with apartments did not work in that particular area, she said.
"Surely there is an opportunity to reuse the building and redevelop it in some way that fits the footprint.
"What they’re proposing is very bland and un-Dunedin. It’s not notable; in 20 years’ time it would look pretty dull."
The city council has received more than 90 submissions on the Elim Group proposal; the vast majority are against the plan.
Cr David Benson-Pope said he could not comment specifically about Elim Group’s proposal as he would oversee the consent hearings.
The building was one of several well-known older properties in Dunedin that were not on the council’s heritage list, he said.
