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Wales Corner or Bank of NSW Building, 221-231 Collins Street, 75-89 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Butler, Graeme1985

Scope and contents

Constructed in 1964-66 to a design by Stephenson & Turner, Wales Corner has a clear association

with the postwar building boom which transformed central Melbourne into a modern high-rise city.

Record details

Title:

Wales Corner or Bank of NSW Building, 221-231 Collins Street, 75-89 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Creator:

Butler, Graeme (Name details)

Date of work:

1985

Reference number:

BIF-CITY 102079

Level of description:

Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)

Type of materials:

Graphic materialsTextual material

Part of:

Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)

Access restrictions:

UnrestrictedOpen access.

Use restrictions:

UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.

General notes:

Period: Post-Second WarConstruction date: 1964-.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWales Corner, 221-231 Collins Street, a multi-storey office building constructed in 1964-66.Elements that contribute to the significance of the place include (but are not limited to):· The building’s original external form, materials and detailing· The building’s high level of integrity to its original design.Later alterations made to the street level facades are not significant.How it is significant?Wales Corner at 221-231 Collins Street is of historical and representative significance to the City ofMelbourne.Why it is significant?Constructed in 1964-66 to a design by Stephenson & Turner, Wales Corner has a clear associationwith the postwar building boom which transformed central Melbourne into a modern high-rise city. The design of these commercial buildings from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s – many of which werearchitect designed – was driven by the commercial demands and the prestige afforded by a dominantcity presence (Criterion A).Wales Corner is a fine and highly intact representative example of a Post-War Modernist commercialbuilding. The building strongly reflects the style which was popular in the 1960s to the mid 1970s,particularly in central Melbourne. Constructed as a 16-storey building on a prominent corner in CollinsStreet, Wales Corner clearly demonstrates typical characteristics of a 1960s to mid 1970s structure, including a solid exterior of three grid-like glazed curtain wall facades containing alternating rows ofglazing and solid spandrels, broad dividing mullions and fine horizontal members, a podium base andthe use of materials such as metal spandrel cladding, aluminium framed windows and reconstructedstone facing. These demonstrate important aspects of the Post-War Modernist style (Criterion D).Primary sourceHoddle Grid Heritage Review (Context & GJM Heritage, 2020)See https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/490246/Melbourne-C386melb-Wales-Corner-Statement-of-Significance-221-231-Collins-Street,-Melbourne,-July-2020.PDF.CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWhttps://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/6015/9494/2258/PROPERTY_102079_221TO231_COLLINS_ST.pdfSITE HISTORYThe multi-storey building known as Wales Corner was designed by architects Stephenson & Turnerand constructed in 1964-66 for owners the Bank of New South Wales (BAP; Butler 1985: Building IDForm; Age, 18 Jul 1962:5). The builders were the Lewis Construction Co. (Age, 25 May 1965:23).An article published in July 1962 featuring the proposed building, to be called ‘Wales Corner’,reported that construction of the corner building was to commence early in 1963. The building was toincorporate an arcade from Swanston to Collins Street that would accommodate seven shops, a shopfor Damman’s tobacconists who had occupied the corner site for more than 90 years, and a bankingchamber. The upper floors were for business and professional suites, showrooms and office spaces(Figure 1 shows the earlier proposed design) (Age, 18 Jul 1962:5).City of Melbourne received a building permit application for the new building in December 1964(estimated to cost £1,128,000) (BAI). Architectural drawings by Stephenson & Turner dated 1962 and1964 show a modified version of the earlier design (Figure 2 - Figure 5), comprising a corner towerand low-scale section to the south, fronting Swanston Street. This low-scale section comprised thearcade providing access to retail shops at ground level, and a rooftop garden to the first floor. Thebanking chambers and bank offices were to occupy the ground and first floors of the tower. Thebuilding was designed with reconstructed stone panels and fixed glazing and reversible sash windowsto the exterior (BAP).The building was completed in 1966 and the Bank of New South Wales branch had opened bySeptember 1966 (Age, 5 Sep 1966:2). The Bank of New South Wales continued to occupy thebuilding into the 1980s (Butler 1985: Building ID Form). In 2019, the banking chambers are occupiedby Westpac Bank.Stephenson & Turner, architectsStephenson & Turner was formed in 1921 as Stephenson & Meldrum by A G Stephenson and PercyMeldrum, who had met at London’s Architectural Association. In 1925, the firm employed KeithTurner, who was well known for his design skills and headed up the newly-established Sydney officefrom 1934.Stephenson & Meldrum specialised in hospital design. During the 1930s alone, the practice gained 20major hospital commissions. In Melbourne, this included: Mercy Hospital, East Melbourne (1934),Freemasons’ Hospital, East Melbourne (1935-36) and the Royal Melbourne Hospital (1938-39).Meldrum split from the practice in 1937, having become uncomfortable with the firm’s heightenedfocus on hospital work. It continued as Stephenson & Turner from this time, and from the 1940sonwards witnessed an extensive period of expansion. Offices were established in Newcastle, NSW(1947) and Adelaide, SA (1955), and internationally in Singapore (1949) and Wellington (1956).Offices in Auckland, Dunedin, Canberra and Hong Kong soon followed.Though Turner retired from the practice in 1956, the firm continued to be known as Stephenson &Turner. Beyond their hospital work, the firm also designed industrial complexes, commercial officebuildings, banks, town plans (including Shepparton in 1946) and the Australian pavilions at the ParisExposition (1937) and the New York World’s Fair (1939-40). Office buildings designed by Stephenson& Turner in Melbourne in the postwar period included 390 Lonsdale Street (1959); the Colonial MutualLife Assurance Building at 308-334 Collins Street (1963); Wales Corner at 221-231 Collins Street(1964-66) and Embank House at 325 Collins Street (1965)REFERENCESContextual History references contained within City of Melbourne Hoddle Grid Heritage Review:Postwar Thematic Environmental History 1945-1975Building Application Index (BAI), City of Melbourne.Building Application Plans (BAP), City of Melbourne.Butler, Graeme (1983), Twentieth Century Architecture and Works of Victoria (also titled TwentiethCentury Architecture Register of Royal Australian Institute of Architects), Selected Data Sheets Vol 2,prepared for the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.Butler, Graeme (1985), Melbourne Central Activities District Conservation Study, Building Citationsand Building Identification Forms (accessed via Heritage Victoria’s Hermes database).City of Melbourne Libraries online Heritage Collection, reference nos. as cited.National Archives of Australia (NAA), photo collection, images and photographers as cited.The Age.Victorian Places, ‘Wales Corner, 368 Collins Street, Melbourne, 1969’,<https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/node/64330>, accessed October 2019.Willis, Julie (2012), ‘Stephenson & Turner’ in Philip Goad & Julie Willis’s (Eds.) (2012), TheEncyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Port Melbourne..IMAGEShttps://flic.kr/p/GNEj9C.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites GRAEME BUTLER 1982-3, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (VIC) 20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE SURVEY and 20th CENTURY BUILDINGS REGISTER

Names:

City of Melbourne

Topics:

Central Activities District Conservation Study 1985Conservation studiesPostwar period1960-1969BanksOffices

Places:

Melbourne (Vic.)

Form/Genre:

Building Identification Forms (BIFs)

Record types:

Research and reports

Record number:

1192796