A Futuristic Past – Callam Offices by John Andrews AO

Designed in response to the deadly 1971 Woden Flood in Canberra, the Callam Offices stand as a significant remaining work by acclaimed Australian architect John Andrews. The precinct was initially devised as a large office complex to accommodate 6,000 public servants across more than five hectares of the Woden floodplain. Andrews envisioned an array of 26 elevated octagonal office pods interlocking through an experimental system of bridges and connections. However, in 1975, two years after design commenced, government funding cuts cancelled the works, and his design would only be partially realised in 1981 as three pods to house the Woden TAFE College.

The constructed pods lie low across the Woden site, with Andrews intending to bring a new dimension of horizontality to modern town centres. Andrews believed that buildings suited to the Australian condition had not yet been achieved and that the Callam Offices would begin to fill this void in local development. The complex consists of a series of towers woven together by bridge links to carefully distribute space between circulation, services and office work. This thoughtful and creative planning system also delineates privacy with pedestrian connections separating staff routes from those for the public.

The Callam Offices capture both John Andrews’ approach and the ideals of a modernist sensibility through its revealed functionality and unusual material articulation, while the integrated structural systems are also rare in an Australian context.

The building’s monumental and robust form incorporates many elements of the late 20th-century structuralist style, being built primarily of revealed off-form concrete, steel and glass. Andrews authentically expresses the structural quality of the building in a striking repetitive and almost futuristic display of construction technology, including reinforced concrete supports and thickened steel masts. The pod units also appear to float above the site through a suspended system of steel cables that extend beyond the roof and out to the perimeter of the building, the first example of such technology in a commercial Australian context. The office façades are glazed from floor to ceiling, shaded to the north, east and west with stainless steel screens thoughtfully tilted to open partially towards daylight.

The Callam Offices provide an important insight into the distinct conceptual planning and style of Andrews, who remains one of Australia’s most significant modernist architects. Internationally and locally recognised for his designs, he was the recipient of some of Australia’s highest honours, including the RAIA Gold Medal in 1980 and an Order of Australia in 1981..

The Callam Offices provide an important insight into the distinct conceptual planning and style of Andrews, who remains one of Australia’s most significant modernist architects.

As the value of late 20th-century buildings in heritage conservation is beginning to be reconsidered, it is important to reflect on the lasting contribution that projects such as the Callam Offices have had on Australia’s built environment. The design is steeped in social history and is deeply connected to place, representing a significant moment in time for architecture in Canberra. The Callam Offices endure because they embody an energy for innovation and an excitement for a future unknown, demonstrating not only what design has been but what it has to offer.