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The MLC Centre is much more than an office tower or retail centre. It conceptualises the notion of a city within a city and offers an extensive range of facilities and services to those who work in the MLC Centre or nearby - a prestige office environment, quality shopping for a range of international and domestic goods, the Theatre Royal as well as generous outdoor spaces for coffee, lunching or dining al fresco. 
The MLC Centre was way ahead of its time in its design, being the only prime building in the Sydney CBD to foresee the need for, and provide, large expanses of open space in the heart of the city for the enjoyment of tenants, shoppers and visitors alike.
The Architect - The Significance of Harry Seidler (1923-2006)
"Architecture is not like ladies hats - in one week and out the next. Good architecture is there for a long, long time, and it will survive all the moods of fashion that are about." So said Australia's most acclaimed and controversial architect, Mr Harry Seidler. Mr Seidler's firm, Harry Seidler & Associates, is responsible for the design of some of Australia's most recognised buildings including the MLC Centre.
In addition to "going beyond fashion", Mr Seidler considered two other ingredients essential to ensure commercial buildings maintain their value longer than others. "They must answer practical problems without compromise … easily and quickly constructed in a fabric that is virtually everlasting".
"The part that isn't changeable, the concrete frame, the open span and of course, the site, provide the kind of spaces that people need, enabling the building to retain its commercial viability for a long, long time indeed".
These were the criteria used for the design of the MLC Centre, still one of Sydney's most impressive buildings, and winner of the coveted Sir John Sulman medal. 
The MLC Centre Cultural Environment
Nervi Structures
Striking in appearance and structural design, the architectural ceilings in the Theatre Royal, the Tower Lobby, the King Street retail entrance cantilever and CTA Club structure were all designed by Professor Pier Luigi Nervi.
The Piazza
Reminiscent of a European town, the piazza and outdoor surrounds are all paved with porfido, imported from Italy. Formed by volcanic action thousands of years ago, this granite type stone was laid with skill and care, each one individually selected. 
Major Art Works
"Wrestling" Joseph Albers
Features on the Commonwealth Bank wall overlooking the Piazza. This relief structure constellation was the last executed work by Joseph Albers.
"S" Charles Perry
Located on the top level of the Piazza, the bright yellow "S" sculpture consists of four conic elements and can be twisted into thirty different shapes. 
"New Constellation" by Robert Owen1, 2004-2007.
Consisting of three painted ultramarine blue steel structures on the Martin Place side of the lobby.
"Spring - Double Weave #2" by Robert Owen1, 2006-2007.
Synthetic polymer paint on six panels on the King and Castlereagh Street entry in the Tower Lobby.
1. Robert Owen has been an exhibiting artist for over forty years. His art practice during this time has been characterised by the use of diverse materials and approaches that are linked through a poetic sensitivity to the expressive potential of materials, light and colour, and through an almost scientific interest in geometric form and grid variations in both sculpture and painting.
Robert Owen studied sculpture at the National Art School under Lyndon Dadswell and graduated in 1962. After spending time in the Greek Islands and in London in the 1960s he returned to Australia in 1975. In 1978 he represented Australia at the Venice Biennale. He exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions through the 1980s and 1990s. During this time he has also undertaken many public sculptural commissions, including most recently the Webb Bridge project with architects Denton Corker Marshall for the Melbourne Docklands. In 2002 he received an Australia Council Emeritus Award for life-long service to the arts.
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