National Heritage Places - Orica House (formerly the ICI Building)

National Heritage List inscription date 21 September 2005

The ICI Building in East Melbourne (now Orica House) was at the forefront of the high-rise boom in Australia's cities in the second half of the 20th century. The national heritage significance of the ICI Building is expressed through the tower, which introduced the idea of trade-offs between height and public amenity in Australian cities.

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About Orica House

Reaching new heights

The former ICI Building followed the international trend for multi-storey buildings, which originated in the United States. The move from low to high-rise office buildings transformed the profile, shape and landscape of Australia's major cities.

Australia's fashions in architecture and engineering have been influenced by developments overseas since European settlement in 1788. In the 20th Century, reflecting overseas trends, engineers and planners in Australian capital cities began to introduce innovative architectural ways of expressing community, corporate and business optimism, in both private and government sector projects.

This transformation gained momentum as Australia emerged from the Depression and from the end of the Second World War. Architecture from this period, both in Australia and overseas, bears testament to this time of experimentation.

A new look for Melbourne

The former ICI Building was one of 22 major new multi-storey office buildings that sprang up in Melbourne during the building boom in the second half of the 1950s.

Its 21 storeys exceeded the previous legal limit of 11 to 12 storeys, resulting in Melbourne becoming the first Australian city to change its building height limits. Sydney didn’t have its first high-rise building until 1962.

At the time of its completion the ICI Building was the tallest freestanding office building in Australia, which in its modern materials and technological aesthetic also presented the most progressive architectural statement in Australia. Based on international models, this would reach its full expression in complexes such as Australia Square in Sydney.

The ICI Building demonstrates the principal characteristics of multi-storey office buildings of the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, erected in capital cities across Australia.

National Heritage listing of this once one-of-a-kind building ensures its place in Australian architectural history is recognised by future generations.

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