In 2009, Lovell Chen was commissioned by the City of Ballarat to document the works required to conserve the exterior of Ballarat Town Hall, a distinctive Classical Revival building of two stories with a central clock tower housing eight bells, known as the Alfred Memorial Bells.

Our association with the building dates back to the mid 1990s, when we prepared an external conditions survey report, and the recent works are in general accordance with this report's recommendations. The project has been implemented in several stages to suit funding requirements.

The current Ballarat Town Hall is the third such building on this site, and its design was the result of the amalgamation of several schemes from a design competition held in 1869. First prize went to local architect Henry Caselli, whose plan was incorporated into the final building.

Percy Oakden, whose design won second place, was appointed Borough Architect and asked to prepare the final drawings further incorporating the designs of another local architect, J.T. Lorenz. The mainly Lorenz-designed Sturt Street facade is still largely in tact.

The building has undergone many alterations and little
of its original interior survives. The major alterations of 1912 included facade restoration and repair works. More recently, repairs were undertaken in 1982 and 2002, the latter incomplete because the incompatibility of the three concrete repair mortars used.