(now called 9 Castlereagh St)

Design/Completion 1984-1989

Sydney

Capita Insurance Co.

30,000 m 2

Steel frame, concrete floors, granite facades

  • RAIA Award, 1991

see also 9 Castlereagh Street Enhancements

This building’s design is discussed in detail by Harry Seidler in a 1993 lecture (synchronised with slides 13-24) recorded by UK architectural journalist Monica Pidgeon. www.pidgeondigital.com

In our increasingly crowded cities it is inevitable that sites are created, or rather left over, which are not desirable for development.

Even though this land-locked site is surrounded by 25-30 storey buildings on three sides, it was the wish of the owners to have their headquarter offices located in this very heart of the business centre.

Since the 30 m wide and 42 m deep site has only one street frontage, the centre of the plan form is opened to admit daylight to the internal office spaces.

To create something more than a mere light well, the building is hollowed out for its full height by an open-air atrium. Changing its position from the south side, to the centre, and stepping up to the north, ledges are created and planted with trees and shrubs.