Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union Building, Brutalist office building in Carlton, Australia.
The Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union Building is a three-level concrete structure in Carlton with deeply recessed windows and angular geometric forms. Its raw exposed surfaces and solid masses show hallmark brutalist design without any ornamentation.
The building was completed in 1971 by architect Graeme Gunn and replaced an earlier union headquarters that had become too small for the growing membership. Its bold design influenced architectural conversations across Australia at the time.
The structure received the Victorian Architectural Award Citation in 1971 and the RAIA Victorian Architecture Award for Enduring Architecture in 2007.
The building can be viewed from outside without needing to enter, making it easy to appreciate from the street. Its concrete facade shows different textures and depth depending on the angle and time of day you observe it.
The lift shaft was built with extra space to allow for future vertical expansion if the building needed additional floors. This forward-thinking design shows how architects planned for potential growth.
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