Capita Centre

Capita Centre, is now known as 9 Castlereagh St Sydney, is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Located at 9-11 Castlereagh Street, it is 183m tall from spire and 158m tall from roof. The building was designed by Harry Seidler & Associates in 1984 and completed in 1989. The building won Royal Australian Institute of Architects (NSW) merit award 1991. The structural engineer was Miller, Milston & Ferris and the builder was Civil & Civic. The building was designed to be the new company headquarters for City Mutual (Life Assurance Society Ltd). The land-locked site at 9 Castlereagh St was chosen because of its close proximity to the company's old landmark "City Mutual Building" at 66 Bridge St. City Mutual wanted their new headquarters to be lavish, so no expense was spared in the building design. In 1987, City Mutual changed its name to Capita. The building cost $200m and was opened in 1989. The Capita Centre is rectangular (with varying floor plans as there is a diagonal light shaft through the building) and consists of 34 levels, with a total floor area of 24450m². The building is constructed of composite structural steel and concrete, with its support structures making it unique as it wears its structure on the outside as an outer skeleton. The external columns or lateral bracing truss are unique because they exist outside the core of the building. This building’s design is discussed in detail by Harry Seidler in a 1993 lecture (synchronised with illustrations nos 13-24) recorded by UK architectural journalist Monica Pidgeon whose film archive is available online. www. pidgeondigital.com

Capita Centre, is now known as 9 Castlereagh St Sydney, is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Located at 9-11 Castlereagh Street, it is 183m tall from spire and 158m tall from roof. The building was designed by Harry Seidler & Associates in 1984 and completed in 1989. The building won Royal Australian Institute of Architects (NSW) merit award 1991. The structural engineer was Miller, Milston & Ferris and the builder was Civil & Civic. The building was designed to be the new company headquarters for City Mutual (Life Assurance Society Ltd). The land-locked site at 9 Castlereagh St was chosen because of its close proximity to the company's old landmark "City Mutual Building" at 66 Bridge St. City Mutual wanted their new headquarters to be lavish, so no expense was spared in the building design. In 1987, City Mutual changed its name to Capita. The building cost $200m and was opened in 1989. The Capita Centre is rectangular (with varying floor plans as there is a diagonal light shaft through the building) and consists of 34 levels, with a total floor area of 24450m². The building is constructed of composite structural steel and concrete, with its support structures making it unique as it wears its structure on the outside as an outer skeleton. The external columns or lateral bracing truss are unique because they exist outside the core of the building. This building’s design is discussed in detail by Harry Seidler in a 1993 lecture (synchronised with illustrations nos 13-24) recorded by UK architectural journalist Monica Pidgeon whose film archive is available online. www. pidgeondigital.com