Former "Gio" Building Including Interiors

Item details


Name of item:	Former "Gio" Building Including Interiors
Other name/s:	Sun Newspaper Building
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Commercial Office/Building
Location:	Lat: -33.8698316864206 Long: 151.209718981048
Primary address:	60-70 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
60-70 Elizabeth Street	Sydney	Sydney			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The former Sun Newspaper building is historically significant as the last of the major newspaper buildings to be erected in the City. It is associated with the Sun Newspaper, an afternoon daily in Sydney from 1910 until the 1980s, and is the best known building by architect J A Kethel. The building has aesthetic significance as the first building in Sydney to be designed in the Inter-War Skyscraper Gothic style, and one of only three such buildings in the City, the others being the State Theatre (4055) and the Grace Building .
	Date significance updated: 03 Jan 06
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Joseph Alexander Kethel (1866 -1946)
Construction years:	1929-1929
Physical description:	The GIO Building has facades to Elizabeth Street and Phillip Street, both with a granite base and rendered walls above. The granite extends to the central double-storey pointed arched windows which distinguish the first two floors above the base on both street elevations. The Gothic style is used in an idiosyncratic way, combined with alien influences such as the Tuscan mullions to first floor windows. Gothic motifs are applied to the main vertical elements, which terminate in pinnacles at the parapet, and recessed spandrels and windows contribute to the vertical emphsasis. The distinctive tower has a Gothic-inspired “lantern” with buttresses supporting a metal globe. Internally, only relocated vestiges of the original Gothic decoration survive in main lift lobbies. Category:Individual Building. Style:Inter-War Skyscraper Gothic. Storeys:11 plus 5 basements. Facade:Stone cladding, Granite cladding, Bronze frame windows. Side/Rear Walls:Rendered masonry. Internal Walls:Plastered brick, Plasterbd. & stud. Roof Cladding:Waterproof membrane. Internal Structure:Conc. encased steel frame. Floor:Reinf. conc. slab.. Roof:Reinf. conc. Slab. Ceilings:Fibrous plaster, Susp. acoustic tiles. Stairs:2 modern. Fire Stairs:yes. Sprinkler System:Yes. Lifts:4 modern.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The building was completely renovated in the late 1980s and is generally in good condition. Windows on upper floors have aluminium frames.AirConditioned:Yes Intrusive Elements:Awning on Phillip Street façade.
	Date condition updated:07 Dec 05
Modifications and dates:	1929
Further information:	High Significance: Overall form, scale and character of the building, facades including granite and rendered walls and decorations, and bronze windows, original structural frame and floors. Medium Significance: Remnants of Gothic decoration internally. Low Significance: Modern interiors, including lifts, stairs and foyers. Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	Commercial Office
Former use:	Commercial Office

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.

(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )

Sir Hugh Denison (1865-1940), heir to the Dixson tobacco fortune, formed the Sun Newspaper Ltd in 1910. He bought the Australian Star, founded in 1887, and changed its name in 1910 to the Sun, an afternoon daily. In 1929 Denison commissioned Joseph Alexanded Kethel, the son of a prominent Scottish businessman and state politician, to design a new head office for the Sun in Elizabeth Street.

Kethel designed the first neo-Gothic skyscraper erected for commercial purposes in Sydney. The economic problems of the 1930s forced Denison to contract his newspaper holdings, but he retained the Sun until his death in 1940. In 1953 the Sydney Morning Herald purchased a controlling interest in the publishers of the Sun, Associated Newspapers Ltd, and the two newspapers moved in 1956 to the present Herald building in Broadway.

The former Sun building in Elizabeth Street became entirely commercial, especially legal, chambers and in 1988 was given a drastic overhaul of all internal fittings.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The building was the last of the major newspaper buildings to be erected in Sydney, and was associated with the Sun newspaper until 1956. Kethel’s neo-Gothic skyscraper was innovative and striking as a statement of the historical importance of the press. Has historic significance at a State level.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The former Sun Newspaper building was the first in Sydney to be erected in the Inter-War Skyscraper Gothic style, made popular by Raymond Hood’s competition-winning design for the Cicago Tribune building in 1925. The building is well detailed at ground level. Has aesthetic significance at a State level.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The GIO building is one of a small number of building s in the Inter-War Skyscraper Gothic style. Other examples in Sydney are the State Theatre and the Grace Building. Is rare at a State level.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

General: The building should be retained and conserved. Fabric of high significance should be retained, preferably in its original location, and future adaptations carried out in areas which have already been altered. Exterior: The aesthetic significance of the building derives largely from its exterior. Because the original parapet and tower are essential to that significance, no additions should be permitted at roof level. Surviving original fabric should be maintained, and none of the masonry should be painted. Interior: The interior of the building may continue to be adapted for changing uses provided that there is no adverse impact on the external appearance of the building. The building should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the façade of the building other than to reinstate original features. The principal room layout and planning configuration as well as significant internal original features including ceilings, cornices, joinery, flooring and fireplaces should be retained and conserved. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, should not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the relevant planning controls.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1738	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written		1958	Australian Encyclopaedia, 2nd ed., VI 328
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Written	R.B. Walker	1981	Denison, Sir Hugh Robert’, Australian Dictionary of Biography , VIII,, 283-5 G. Jahn, Sydney Architecture, Watermark P
Written	Rod Howard & Associates Pty Ltd	2001	Heritage Assessment

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2423761

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