Warringah Civic Centre
725 Pittwater Road, Dee Why
Colin Madigan and Christopher Kringas of Edwards, Madigan, Torzillo & Briggs. 1972 to 1973, commissioned 1970. Brutalism.
- Size
- About 63 m long, on three platforms. No height found; the drawing is estimated
- Material
- Bush-hammered in-situ concrete, precast piers 12.8 m high
- Status
- Recommended for the State Register in 2024; a final listing wasn’t confirmed. Northern Beaches Council offices
The shire council asked for this in 1970, and Madigan and Kringas set it on a rock outcrop planned as an acropolis above the Dee Why shops, with Bruce Mackenzie’s native bushland around it. Inside, three open floors are linked by concrete ramps, U-shaped in section, under a skylight, with the air-conditioning ducts left in view. Outside, the walls are hammered back to expose the aggregate. It opened in 1973 and served Warringah until 2016, when the council merged into a larger one. Heritage nominations have been deferred and renewed since 2008.
Read about Brutalism in Sydney
Sources
- Warringah Council Civic Centre, Dee Why, full documentation fiche, Docomomo Australia (Scott Robertson, 2010)
- State Heritage Register Committee minutes, 4 June 2024, Heritage Council of NSW
- State Heritage Register Committee minutes, 7 May 2024, Heritage Council of NSW
- Warringah Civic Centre heritage listing, NSW Government, Have Your Say
- Warringah Civic Centre, Wikipedia