MLC Building, North Sydney

Last updated

MLC Building, North Sydney
MLC North Sydney with weather beacon.png
Roof of the MLC Building, with the weather beacon on top and bas relief MLC symbol by Andor Mészáros
MLC Building, North Sydney
Alternative namesCampus MLC
General information
TypeOffice Building
Architectural style Post-war International
Address105—153 Miller Street
Town or city North Sydney, New South Wales
CountryAustralia
Coordinates 33°50′18″S151°12′27″E / 33.8383253°S 151.2075512°E / -33.8383253; 151.2075512
Construction startedJune 1955 [1]
Completed1957
Opening22 August 1957
Renovated2000–2002
Owner MLC Limited
Height
Roof59 m (194 ft)
Technical details
Floor count16
Design and construction
Architect(s)Sir Walter Osborne McCutcheon
Architecture firm Bates, Smart & McCutcheon
Renovating team
Architect(s) Bates Smart
Bligh Voller Nield
Official nameMLC Building
TypeState heritage (built)
Designated22 December 2023
Reference no.SHR02069
TypeCommercial Offices
ListingNSW Government Gazette, No. 596 Heritage & Planning
BuildersConcrete Constructions Pty Ltd

The MLC Building is a landmark modernist skyscraper in the central business district of North Sydney, on a block bounded by Miller Street, Denison Street and Mount Street (Brett Whiteley Place). Planned in 1954 and completed in 1957, the complex was designed in the modernist Post-war International style by architects, Bates, Smart & McCutcheon. Its completion marked the appearance of the first high-rise office block in North Sydney and the first use of curtain wall design. Built to provide much-needed office space for the Mutual Life & Citizens Assurance Company Limited, the building continues to be primarily-occupied by its original tenants. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 January 2024. [2]

Contents

History

By the early 1950s, the Mutual Life & Citizens Assurance Company Limited (MLC) had recognised that their existing 1938 headquarters on Martin Place was insufficient to their needs, at the same time as the company underwent a vast building programme, and in 1954 announced a new office for North Sydney. [3] [4] On the occasion of MLC's acquisition of a site in the North Sydney central business district for a new office complex, the General Manager of MLC, Milton Cromwell Alder, noted the future division of MLC offices in Sydney as a result: "the [current] position in the city [on Martin Place] is becoming intolerable because of traffic congestion, as well as the need to accommodate an expanding staff. The new building will become the head office, and will house most of the clerks. Most administrative and records work will be done there. The present building [on Martin Place] will be retained for executive headquarters and for dealing direct with the public." [5]

MLC commissioned their preferred architects, Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, who had also designed their 1938 head office and with whom MLC would collaborate on the majority of their new office expansion programme, designing buildings in Brisbane (1955), Wollongong (1956), Shepparton (1959), Ballarat (1954), Geelong (1953), Adelaide (1957), Perth (1957), Newcastle (1957) North Sydney (1957), and Canberra (1959). [6] The North Sydney MLC Building design, a 59 metre-high tower complex in the Post-war International style, was the result, with noted inspiration coming from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's 1952 Lever House in New York and coming at the same time as the firm's design of ICI House in Melbourne. [7]

It was noted on the approval of the design that the MLC Building, through its design and height, marked the change of North Sydney as a second centre of metropolitan Sydney, with the Mayor of North Sydney, William Henry Brothers, commenting that "The northern side of the harbour will eventually develop into the commercial centre of Sydney". [8] [9] The modernist design itself was significant, with its first use of curtain wall design, the first use of modular units in Australia and was the first high-rise building in Australia to have a public plaza. [7] As a mark of its position as the tallest building in North Sydney, a weather beacon was installed on the roof by Standard Telephones and Cables. [10] Construction work was stopped temporarily in February 1957 when an electrician fell to his death from the 14th floor. [11] His fellow workers later presented his widow and children with a cheque for A£1,200. [12]

Completed at a final cost of A£4.5 million the MLC Building was officially opened by Prime Minister Robert Menzies on 22 August 1957, who expressed that "The view [from the top floor] gives me such a new conception of Sydney that quite frankly I'm beginning to like the place". [13] [14] [15]

In 2000, the facade was restored by Bates Smart (as it was known from 1995) following a conservation management plan prepared by Peter McKenzie alongside extensive interior renovations for a project termed "Campsus MLC" by Bligh Voller Nield (James Grose, project architect). [16] [6] [17]

Features

The building is a modernist, fourteen-storey (two below-ground) cubiform office block of 42,000 square metres (450,000 sq ft) of floorspace constructed on a rigid steel frame with hollow steel floors. Curtain walls of glass and anodized aluminium spandrels, with facing materials of terracotta, marble, granite and mosaic tiles. The MLC Building was Australia's largest office building on completion with over 42,000 square metres (450,000 sq ft) of office space. [7]

Heritage listing and conservation

The MLC Building is listed as an item on the North Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2013 as "The first high rise office block in North Sydney and the largest for a number of years after its construction. Seminal building on subsequent high-rise design in Sydney and utilised construction and structural techniques not previously used in Australia." [7] It is also on the Australian Institute of Architects' register of Nationally Significant 20th-Century Architecture and the heritage register of the National Trust of Australia (NSW). [18] [19]

In June 2021, it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register; [20] but, in July 2022, a court ordered that it be removed from the register. [21] In May 2023 the Land and Environment Court rejected the development application. [22] However, the NSW Government reinstated the building on the State Heritage Register on 22 December 2023. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Seidler</span> Austrian-Australian architect

Harry Seidler was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauhaus in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of New South Wales</span> Banking company in New South Wales, Australia

The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania in the 20th century. It merged with many other financial institutions, finally merging with the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1982 and being renamed to the Westpac Banking Corporation on 4 May that year under the Bank of New South Wales Act 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sulman</span> Australian architect

Sir John Sulman was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the development of Canberra.

Sir Roy Burman Grounds was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the adjacent Victorian Arts Centre, cemented his legacy as a leader in Australian architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Institute of Architects</span> Professional body (organisation)

The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow) and RAIA. The Institute supports 14,000 members across Australia, including 550 Australian members who are based in architectural roles across 40 countries outside Australia. SONA is the national student-membership body of the Australian Institute of Architects. EmAGN represents architectural professionals within 15 years of graduation, as part of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Bates Smart is an architectural firm with studios in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1853 by Joseph Reed, it is one of Australia's oldest architectural firms. Over the decades, the firm's practices involving architecture, interior design, urban design, strategy, sustainability and research, have been responsible for some of Australia’s most recognizable buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowe Street, Sydney</span> Street in Sydney, Australia

Rowe Street is a narrow laneway in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Originally, Rowe Street ran between Castlereagh Street and Pitt Street, parallel to Martin Place. However, it now runs east–west off Pitt Street. Rowe Street was named in honour of Thomas Rowe, a prominent architect in New South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong House</span> Heritage-listed building in Sydney, Australia

Hong Kong House, also known since 1995 as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, is a landmark heritage building and former hotel in the Sydney central business district, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1891 to a design by Ambrose Thornley, it is located on 80 Druitt Street, at the corner with York Street, and is adjacent to other prominent heritage landmarks, the Sydney Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building. Formerly known as Gresham Hotel, the property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neville Gruzman</span> Australian architect

Neville Gruzman, AM was an Australian architect, mayor of Woollahra, writer and architectural activist. He is considered to have exerted a decisive influence on Sydney's architecture, mostly through his dedication to designing architecture that reacts to the landscape and to the needs of the client.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney County Council</span>

The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network in a number of municipalities in metropolitan Sydney. Unlike other New South Wales county councils, which were voluntary associations of local councils to undertake local government activities permitted or required of them by the Local Governnment Act 1919, Sydney County Council was established under a separate piece of legislation by the state government to perform the electricity distribution and streetlighting operations of the local government areas concerned. On its establishment it assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council, which was already supplying electricity to other municipalities. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1990 to form Sydney Electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil & Civic</span> Australian construction company

Civil & Civic was an Australian construction company. Founded in 1951, it was acquired in 1961 by Lend Lease Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Royal, Sydney</span>

Theatre Royal Sydney is a theatre in Sydney, Australia built in 1976 and has offered a broad range of entertainment since the 1990s. The theatre reopened in December 2021 under parent company Trafalgar Entertainment with patrons now able to book tickets directly from the venue itself with its Box Office operating 7 days a week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Newman (architect)</span>

Alfred Gambier Newman was an Australian architect active in the first 20 years of the 20th century. He designed significant work for both the Methodist Church and the Newman and Vickery families.

George Allen Mansfield was a prominent Australian architect of the nineteenth century who designed many iconic buildings in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The State Office Block was a landmark modernist skyscraper complex on a block bounded by Phillip, Bent and Macquarie streets in the Sydney central business district. Completed in 1965 and designed in the modernist International style by Ken Woolley from the NSW Government Architect's Office, the 128-metre-high building took the title of the tallest building in Australia from the nearby AMP Building until 1967, the 170 metre Australia Square tower was completed. Designed to hold offices of the NSW Government, including the cabinet and the Premier's office, the State Office Block was demolished in 1997 to make way Aurora Place.

The North Sydney Council Chambers is a landmark civic complex on a block bounded by Miller Street and McLaren Street in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Originally conceived as a Federation Arts and Crafts residence by Edward Jeaffreson Jackson in 1903, the main building served as a private hospital before being purchased by the Municipality of North Sydney for its new chambers in 1925, with sympathetic extensions being completed in 1926, 1938 and 1968 to accommodate for this new usage. While it has remained the seat of North Sydney Council since 1926, the Council Chambers have been further extended with the completion of the modernist Wyllie Wing by Harry Seidler in 1977 and the Carole Baker Building in 2000 by Feiko Bouman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MLC Building, Sydney</span> Historic building in Sydney, Australia

The MLC Building is a heritage-listed office building located at 42–46 Martin Place in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Bates Smart & McCutcheon and built from 1936 to 1938 by Concrete Constructions Limited. It is also known as Mutual Life & Assurance Building. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. From the time of its construction and for many years thereafter, the building served as the offices for Australian life insurance company, Mutual Life & Citizens Assurance Company Limited. As of December 2018 the anchor tenant was Norton Rose Fulbright, formerly Henry Davis York, an international law firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Newton Kenworthy</span> English-born Australian architect

George Newton Kenworthy FRAIA, also known as G. N. Kenworthy or "Kennie", was a leading Sydney architect and Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects best associated for his work in partnership with Henry Eli White and for his building designs in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Functionalist and Spanish Mission styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural Bank Building, Martin Place</span> Commercial office building in New South Wales, Australia

The Rural Bank Building was a landmark bank and commercial building on a block bounded by Martin Place, Elizabeth Street and Phillip Street in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Completed in 1936 and designed in the Inter-war Art Deco style by the bank's chief architect, Frank, Turner, the building served as the Rural Bank's main headquarters until 1982. Despite its distinctive design receiving recognition for its heritage value as "one of the finest art deco buildings in Australia", including from the Australian Institute of Architects and through a listing on the Federal Register of the National Estate, the Rural Bank Building was controversially demolished in 1983 and replaced by the postmodern State Bank Centre development by Peddle Thorp & Walker, prompting greater community efforts to protect the heritage of Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Metropole, Sydney</span> Hotel in New South Wales, Australia

The Hotel Metropole was a hotel located on a block bounded by Bent, Phillip, and Young Streets in the central business district of Sydney. From its opening in January 1890, it was considered as one of Sydney's premier hotels, and catered towards rural visitors to the city. Originally designed by architects Sheerin & Hennessy and Twentyman & Askew, the hotel was remodelled and extended in 1929 by Henry Budden. With the land value outstripping the profits gained by the hotel by the late 20th century, the hotel was closed in May 1970 and demolished later the same year to make way for a modernist office development, CAGA House.

References

  1. ↑ "OUR GIANT BUILDING". The Argus (Melbourne) . Victoria, Australia. 13 May 1955. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Gorrey, Megan (2 January 2024). "Beauty or the beast? Sydney's most divisive office block is heritage listed". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "New Building For M.L.C. Company". The Newcastle Sun . No. 11, 272. New South Wales, Australia. 12 August 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Big Office Block In North Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 36, 295. New South Wales, Australia. 20 April 1954. p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "New Head Office For M.L.C." The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 274. New South Wales, Australia. 26 March 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  6. 1 2 "Bates Smart Timeline - MLC Building, North Sydney". Journal. BatesSmart. March–April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "MLC Building". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Twin Cities On The Harbour?". Construction. New South Wales, Australia. 31 March 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "North Sydney Expansion Continues". Construction. New South Wales, Australia. 21 July 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "WEATHER BEACON". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 March 1957. p. 1. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Workers Stop Mien Electrician Falls To Death". The Canberra Times. Vol. 31, no. 9, 100. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 February 1957. p. 1. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "NATIONAL ROUND-UP". Tribune . No. 992. New South Wales, Australia. 3 April 1957. p. 11. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "P.M. Sees New View of Sydney". The Cumberland Argus . No. 3899. New South Wales, Australia. 11 September 1957. p. 15. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Menzies Urges Need To Attract Overseas Capital". The Canberra Times. Vol. 31, no. 9, 255. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 August 1957. p. 3. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "Mr. Menzies To Open New M.L.C. Buildina". The Canberra Times. Vol. 31, no. 9, 254. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 August 1957. p. 5. Retrieved 8 September 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ Goad, Philip (1 January 2001). "Office Revolution". ArchitectureAU. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Campus MLC by Bligh Voller Nield (NSW)". Australian Institute of Architects. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  18. ↑ "MLC Building - 1954-1957 - NSW". Docomomo Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "MLC Building" (PDF). Nationally Significant 20th-Century Architecture. Australian Institute of Architects.
  20. ↑ "North Sydney MLC building added to state heritage register". ArchitectureAU. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  21. ↑ Mitchell, Georgina; Singhal, Pallavi (17 July 2022). "Court overturns heritage listing on Sydney building, paving way for demolition". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  22. ↑ Gorrey, Meghan (3 May 2023). "North Sydney's MLC Building saved from the wrecking ball". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  23. ↑ Robertson, Scott (23 December 2023). "MLC North Sydney Listed on the State Heritage List". DOCOMOMO Australia. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.