The artisans who restored the iconic Sydney building’s glass windows
When glass apprentice Rozlyn de Bussey took a prestigious job restoring the Queen Victoria Building in the 1980s, she didn’t think much of it; The 23-year-old was more interested in using his breaks to try every yum cha restaurant in Chinatown.
“Because I was so young, I felt like it was just part of being an apprentice, I didn’t really wonder about it until much later,” said de Bussey, now 68.
Now the city is considering a proposal from retailers who want to replace QVB’s tinted windows on the ground floor of Market Street with clear glass, much to de Bussey’s “upset.”
From 1985 to 1987, de Bussey and his fellow apprentices began a labor-intensive renovation process, cutting more than 73,000 pieces of glass “from morning to night.”
“At QVB, we cut every piece of interior and exterior glass,” he said. “It was boring and demanding. We were beginners, but good starters. You work quickly, you are diligent in what you do, and you get the job done efficiently,” he said.
They worked out of the Pyrmont factory and used stencils and patterns of various sizes to guide their work before the glass was transported and placed in the QVB.
“Precision is everything,” according to De Bussey. “If you’re one millimeter from the bottom of a building, you’ll be 100 millimeters from the top.”
Some of his fondest memories as a young glass artist were formed during the two years he worked on QVB. Even after 30 years of experience under his belt, he feels prouder than ever for this opportunity.
He said any retailer “should be proud to be in the building.”
“It’s vital to preserve and appreciate what’s there. Even replacing it with modern glass today would probably cost a lot more than it is,” de Bussey said.
And this isn’t the first time there’s been a push for change. In 1959, QVB was in danger of complete demolition when the then Lord Mayor of Sydney, Harry Jensen, announced plans to replace the building with a town hall square and car park.
Although saved, the building remained derelict as debate over its fate continued for decades before it was declassified by the National Trust in 1974, owned by QVB, the country’s second-largest retail landlord.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore was on the council committee that approved the restoration in the 1980s and said the QVB was one of her favorite buildings in Sydney.
“The Queen Victoria Building is an icon and one of our most important heritage buildings in the City,” Moore said.
“Today the QVB stands in all its glory, a testament to the original vision of the building and the exquisite craftsmanship of the craftsmen who put everything back together.”
Who else participated in the glass restoration work?
Standing under the QVB’s vast central dome, 19 meters wide and 58 meters high, it is difficult to imagine how one person could paint all the windows; But that’s exactly what glass artist Rodney Marshall did.
Marshall and his business partner Steve Taylor won a competitive bidding process and in 1985, with the help of apprentices such as de Bussey, they were tasked with undertaking a massive effort to repair and repaint almost every glass panel in the building.
“We didn’t think we were going to get the job, there were a few people who quoted us. We were very excited about the whole thing,” Marshall said.
Shockwaves from the nearby 1978 Hilton Hotel bombing caused extensive damage to the QVB, leaving the duo facing further challenges, but together they meticulously combed through municipal archives, library records, architect designs and even the building itself. Herald’s Their own archives to put together accurate plans of the original glass.
Unable to find any trace of a design on one of the main windows, Marshall opted to paint the panels with the original designs.
The process also involved removing the windows, measuring them, cutting the glass with templates, painting the panels, baking them in the oven, coating the glass with putty, and then reinforcing it with steel rods for greater durability.
“It was a huge job, with long hours and some days finishing at 9pm or 10pm. But it was great to work on, there was no doubt about that,” the 84-year-old actor said.
Although Marshall’s intricate glass windows are not those on the chopping block (those that could be scrapped were glazed by a different company) he is adamant that nothing of heritage significance should be removed from the QVB.
“I don’t think too many tourists will come to Sydney and go to a big financial building, but they will go and look at the QVB. I hope people appreciate that,” he said.
A spokesman for Environment Centres, the country’s second-largest retail landlord and co-owner of QVB, said the changes were “minor adjustments” and, if approved, would “increase natural light and visibility whilst maintaining architectural consistency in this important streetscape”.
The City of Sydney’s local planning panel will determine the outcome after public submissions close on February 6.
Cindy Yin is an urban affairs reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
