Unreservedly Modern
The Reserve Bank of Australia Building
The construction of a new head office building for the Reserve Bank of Australia presented a valuable opportunity to express the Bank’s identity, purpose and values. The Bank’s approach to this enterprise was informed by modernist principles, and resulted in the creation of a nationally significant building that united architecture, art, interior design and graphic design.
![Three portraits of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s](/assets/img/exhibitions/unreservedly-modern/tile-international-style.jpg)
Public Art
The building was one of the first in Sydney to integrate major abstract sculptures into its architectural form.
![A poster produced by the Bank showing a mother and her family with the slogan 'Liberty Loan - we dare not fail'](/assets/img/exhibitions/unreservedly-modern/significance-of-martin-place.jpg)
The Significance of Martin Place
The Bank’s position at the junction of Martin Place and Macquarie Street borrows symbolic associations from both places.
![A poster produced by the Bank showing a mother and her family with the slogan '
Liberty Loan - we dare not fail'](/assets/img/exhibitions/unreservedly-modern/tile-a-modern-building.jpg)
A Modern Building
The new building incorporated high quality Australian materials, fine craftsmanship and state of the art technical systems. It also introduced a new architectural language to Martin Place.