Postmodernism increased the play space for corporate architecture by persuading the bean counters there was more to it than just floorspace and view miles. Modernism had produced the skyscraper as gorgeous object, but its manners at ground level were lamentable. Although the Sydney office tower is not on the whole a distinguished breed we have a few prime examples. Darling Park, for instance, which houses the Herald, came in on the turning tide. And then there's the golden triangle.
Comparisons are odious so let's.
All three arrived trailing clouds of contextual rhetoric, but relate more to other places and traditions. And all three, like ships at anchor, swing to the north, allowing the tower to salute harbour and Opera House while the base twists to suit the street. Beyond that, though, the three show different mixes of stylistic attitude and influence. Governor Phillip is very straight, very handsome, very serious. Renzo Piano's Aurora Place, in some ways the perfect foil, is refreshingly graceful, understated, feminine.