Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223:front:0:p22
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021C01223
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Character Range: 58584–61602

the style was largely associated with commercial and institutional buildings.

The eight buildings designed for the Reserve Bank generally incorporated similar materials and architectural devices to provide a cohesive public image for the Bank however they were each designed to suit their individual sites and context.  For example the Canberra and Darwin buildings were designed as low-scale buildings to suit their surrounding context, while the Head Office Martin Place was designed to suit an urban context in Central Sydney.

The Head Office is designed as a tower located over a podium, which is designed to relate to the scale of the streetscape and to pedestrian visitors generally.  The elevations of the podium level of the Head Office are designed to relate to other buildings in the group, with the external arrangement of columns supporting a strong horizontal element and echoing classical peristyle architecture.  In the case of Canberra and Darwin the columns appear to support the roof, while the column structure of the Martin Place building appears to carry the first and second floors.

The podium component of the Head Office was designed to relate to the streetscape and the pedestrian scale of visitors.  The walls of the ground floor are generally glazed, and the artworks both within the entrance area and external were designed to enhance the immediate area and the visitor experience.

3.8.1            Comparable RBA buildings
The Reserve Bank of Australia Head office is one of eight purpose-built office buildings constructed to house its operations in every state and territory capital throughout Australia following the creation of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) as a separate entity.

                  Head Office, 65 Martin Place, Sydney (1965).
                  182 Victoria Square, Adelaide (1963).  No longer owned by RBA.
                  102 Adelaide Street, Brisbane (1965). No longer owned by RBA.
                  22 London Circuit, Canberra (1965).
                  60 Collins Street, Melbourne (1966).  No longer owned by the RBA
                  Bennet Street & Smith Street, Darwin (1967). No longer owned by RBA.
                  45 St George Terrace, Perth (1973).  No longer owned by RBA.
                  111 Macquarie Street, Hobart (1974).  No longer owned by RBA.

The buildings, with the exception of the Canberra Branch building[23], were designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works Banks and Special Projects Branch, utilising the Late Twentieth-Century International or Stripped Classical architectural style.  The Head Office, Sydney is an example of the Late Twentieth-Century International style in Central Sydney.

The Reserve Bank buildings throughout Australia reflected a confidence in things Australian and in the future, when the Australian economy was booming.  They were designed as statements of 'corporate pride' and the vital economic role the Reserve Bank aspired to play in the Nation.  The buildings were significant