Camden Material and Colour Guide
In 2023, Camden Council published the Camden Material and Colour Guide.
The guide was the initiative of the Camden Council Heritage Advisory Committee.
The aim of the guide
The Material and Colour Guide aims to provide a handy guide for owners of heritage buildings with practical tips on working with specific materials and colour schemes traditionally used in the local area. (CC, Press release, 21 August 2023)
Specifically, the guide advises heritage property owners on colours and materials for specific residential housing styles, particularly in the Camden Heritage Conservation Area. (CC, Press release, 21 August 2023)
The guide is welcome
It is pleasing to see the council publish the guide after I first raised this issue in 2017 when I wrote a blog post that Camden needed a residential style guide.
On the launch of the guide, I wrote complementing the council on their initiative, stating:
The guide provides valuable information that is reliable and relevant to specific architectural periods and domestic housing styles. I commend the council on its interest in assisting local property owners in retaining and enhancing the town and LGA’s historic fabric and built heritage. The guide assists in building community identity and the area’s sense of place. Both assist the local tourist industry and job creation.
(Letter to Mayor, 29 June 2023)
Camden Mayor Ashleigh Cagney said,
‘I know from conversations with homeowners that when someone owns a heritage building in the Camden area, they are incredibly passionate about preserving its character.’
‘I hope the Camden Material and Colour Guide makes it a little bit simpler for those people to be able to identify what kinds of works would best suit their properties, allowing them to retain their charm.’
(CC, Press release, 21 August 2023)
Kerime Danis, Director at City Plan Heritage, ICOMOS Advisory Committee, and Past President of Australia ICOMOS, posted that she was ‘proud to share’ the guide on Linkedin. Her post attracted Likes from various heritage and industry professionals across Australia, including architects, planners, archaeologists, project managers, historians, heritage conservationists and academics.
Camden Council commissioned City Plan Heritage to prepare the guide.
Camden Material and Colour Guide
The guide is a full-colour 42-page A4 landscape easily downloaded pdf file.
The guide is divided into different housing styles, and within each style, there is a style description and colour schemes for building exterior, interior and landscaping.
In addition, there are paint tips, a colour matrix and a material guide for brick, render, floor and paving, metal, roofing, stone and timber, and windows.
There is specific advice for property owners in the Argyle and John Streets heritage precincts.
There is also an illustrated guide to architectural terms.
Each page has clear, concise explanatory text supported by colour plates drawn from the local area.
Camden housing styles
The guide has identified eight Camden housing styles:
- Victorian Filigree c.1840-1890
- Federation Queen Anne c.1890-1915
- Federation Weatherboard c.1890-1915
- Federation Arts and Crafts c.1890-1915
- Federation Bungalow c.1890-1915
- California Bungalow c.1915-1940
- Interwar Art Deco c.1915-1940
- Interwar Weatherboard c.1915-1940
Any future revision to the guide Camden Council should consider including,
- Mid-Century Moderne 1940-1960.
- Late Twentieth Century c. 1960 – c. 2000
- Twenty–First Century c. 2000 – present.
The housing style of a particular location in the Camden or Narellan area gives the place a definite character and charm. It makes a place special and gives it a sense of its identity (Inter-war period along Menangle Road). The housing style will give the place its special qualities. The houses reflect the times in which they were built.
The housing style may be complemented by a garden and landscaping that reflects the tastes and lifestyles of the occupants of the building. Even gardens go through fashion trends (English-style gardens or native gardens).
https://camdenhistorynotes.com/2017/02/11/camden-needs-a-residential-heritage-style-guide/
Residential housing styles partly determine community identity and a sense of place.
The Camden Cottage
I have written about a generic Camden housing style on this blog a number of times. I have called the style the Camden Cottage.
The housing style incorporates blog posts on the Federation Weatherboard Cottage, the Edwardian Cottage and the Camden Fibro Cottage.
These residential housing styles add to the Camden story and the layers of history within the narrative.
Other heritage guides
Camden Council is not alone in providing this type of advice. Toowoomba Regional Council provides similar advice, as do a number of heritage authorities across the country, including New South Wales and Victoria.
The Guide and the Camden Heritage Conservation Area
The council has done a good job commissioning the Camden Material and Colour Guide.
Local property owners within the Camden Heritage Conservation Area should do themselves a favour and use it to their advantage.
The Camden Heritage Conservation Area is responsible for many tourist day-trippers who visit the Camden Town Centre.
Cultural and heritage tourism, of which architectural styles are part, generates many jobs within the Camden LGA.
The Camden Material and Colour Guide contributes to the conservation and preservation of tangible built heritage and intangible heritage within the Camden town area.
Camden History Notes 
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