If you're looking to renovate your home in a traditional style, a traditional building character overlay may be just what you need. Even if you looking to build a new home in one of the traditional styles, an overlay can give you the guidelines you need to get council approval.
Brisbane City Council has a range of design guidelines to help property owners achieve the traditional look and feel for their home or business.
This guide will take you through the different zones, what they mean for your property, and how you can go about renovating in a way that reflects your neighbourhood's character.
We'll also look at some case studies of traditional building character overlays in Brisbane so you can see how other people have achieved this style.
A traditional building character overlay is an extra layer of planning controls that are applied to a property to protect and enhance the traditional character of an area. Why might you want one for your home or business?
If you live in a traditional Queensland home, an overlay can help you to keep the traditional features of your home when renovating. This might include things like the verandah, roof shape, or window shutters.
Or if you building a new home in a traditional style, an overlay can help you to make sure that your design is sympathetic to the existing character of the area.
There are three types of traditional building character overlay in Brisbane: dwelling house, non-residential, and neighbourhood. Each has different guidelines that you need to follow depending on the type of property you have and what you want to do with it.
The first step is to find out which traditional building character overlay zone applies to your property. You can do this by searching for your property on Brisbane City Council's Planning Property Report.
Character zones are areas within cities or towns that have been identified as having a particular character. This character might be based on the type of buildings, their age, their style, or the way they're used.
There are four traditional building character overlay zones in Brisbane: pre-1911, inner suburban, middle suburban, and outer suburban.
The guidelines for each zone are different, so it's important to know which one applies to your property.
The pre-1911 traditional building character overlay zone applies to properties built before 1911. These properties are typically found in the central business district and inner city areas.
If you live in a pre-1911 property, you need to follow the guidelines for this zone when renovating. These guidelines are designed to preserve the traditional character of these properties. The characters include verandahs, bay windows, and roof shapes. as well as some iconic features like the Queenslander's VJ walls and pressed metal ceilings.
The inner suburban traditional building character overlay zone applies to properties built between 1911 and 1945. These properties are typically found in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, such as Paddington, Red Hill, and Kelvin Grove.
If you live in an inner suburban property, you need to follow the guidelines for this zone when renovating. Some of the features that need to be preserved include verandahs, bay windows, and roof shapes.
The difference with this zone is that there is more flexibility when it comes to adding new features, as long as they are sympathetic to the traditional character of the property. The designs in this era were often a mix of traditional and Federation styles.
The middle suburban traditional building character overlay zone applies to properties built between 1946 and 1960. These properties are typically found in the middle suburbs of Brisbane, such as Toowong, Auchenflower, and Bardon.
Same as the inner suburban zone, if you live in a middle suburban property, you need to follow the guidelines for this zone when renovating. There are some traditional features that need to be preserved, such as verandahs, bay windows, and roof shapes. But there are more room for new features that are sympathetic to the traditional character of the property. the designs in this era were often a mix of traditional and mid-century modern styles.
The outer suburban traditional building character overlay zone applies to properties built after 1960. These properties are typically found in the outer suburbs of Brisbane, such as Mt Gravatt, Carindale, and Inala.
Although these properties are more modern in design, there are still some traditional features to consider, such as verandahs, bay windows, and roof shapes. You will have a lot more freedom when it comes to adding new features, as long as they don't dominate the traditional character of the property.
Following these guidelines will help to ensure that your property retains its traditional character, whether it's pre-1911, inner suburban, middle suburban, or outer suburban.
You also need to be aware of the scale and massing of your house in relation to the surrounding houses.
When renovating an outer suburban property, you have more freedom to add new features. However, it's important that any new additions are sympathetic to the traditional character of the area.
So there you have it, a quick guide to the traditional building character overlay zones in Brisbane. If you're planning any renovations, make sure you check which zone applies to your property and follow the guidelines. This will help to preserve the traditional character of your home.
Contact us at Livit Construction for any questions about building a new house or renovations in Brisbane. We would be happy to help you with your project.
