You can always count of Governments to want to make a statement when they are building something, particularly if that building is in the second biggest centre in a state, that is the case with this building located in Geelong which is the second biggest city in the State of Victoria in Australia.
It was certinaly interesting enough for me to point a camera at it on a nice sunny winter's day and try to show the angles
This building was built in 1978-79 - in fact here is a shot from the interwebs of it being built
For something that is this distintive information is a little hard to come by here is what I've found out
Depending on who is telling the truth it was designed by Geelong architects Buchan Laird & Bawden or
It was a local design by Geelong architects Buchan Laird & Bawden. or 'was a collaborative effort by the Victorian Public Works Department'
Here is a shot from the internet (not mine) showing the whole building.
It's known locally as the 'Upside down' building - but why is it Upside down well again two conflicting stories...
The State Government Offices were built this way because the Council insisted on a certain set-back from the pavement which could not have been achieved otherwise. or alternatively the 'chief architect' described the reason as he shape of which was described by the Chief Architect as reflecting ‘the strong social influences we are all subject to, and which reach out from the past to include the present, and foreshadow the future’.
It needed enough space to contain 21 different government departments so the first reason makes some sense to me. Also Prior to being this building the site was know as the very important sounding - Geelong Number 6 carpark. This is an improvement
In terms of style it's Brutalist - Some people hate brutalism, some people (myself included) quite like it - there is something about the simplicity of it I like, the solidness of the concrete and how it ages over time - this building is 40 years old and I think hasn't aged at all.
There is also something about this which is Futuristic - a sense that in the future we would move away from decoration towards function but maybe that's just me.
Oh and if you want to see how far we have come - check out the 'dome' just down the road - still government funded as the state government attempts to revitalise Geelong for the forty seventh time, still raw concrete and glass.
