More Info →Westpac, 1-7 Broadway Avenue

Description

This building is another James Walker and Lloyd C. Love contribution. Topped by a ‘folded plate’ structure, it cost £216,000 to build. Erected by the contracting firm of Mr J.H. Wilson, its ground floor (only) opened on 15 November 1965.
This was the first major building in the city to use a new construction technique, involving pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete planks (each 22 feet long and weighing over a ton – and made at Bulls) being laid across giant steel girders that framed the building. Some 435 concrete planks were laid - a three-inch layer of concrete screed then being poured onto them. This technique was four times faster than the usual methods, and required less workers.
Leo Collinson and John Cunninghame opened a department store there in 1904. In 1983, it was sold to Farmers’ Trading Company. Since 2010 Westpac has occupied it. The landmark building’s distinctive ‘speckled’ terrazzo pilasters on the façade were painted over in mid-2013.

Identification

Object type

Image

Date

July 2020

Digitisation ID

2020BD_IMCA-DigitalMaster_032281

Format

Born Digital