Mondial House [1975]

Hubbard, Ford & Partners

Mondial House was once Europe’s largest structure devoted to telecommunications – and it’s not difficult to see the analogue the architects Hubbard, Ford & Partners were trying to make between this function and the overall look and feel of the building. Famously referred to as ‘dreadful’ by Prince Charles, Mondial adopted a staggered pyramidal ‘ziggurat’ form, with nods to desktop word processors and early computers, coupling this with an advanced approach to buildings materials in the form of a facade of concrete clad in a glass reinforced plastic for longevity. Below the surface was the heart of Mondial: a bomb-proof, innovative telephone exchange that nonetheless grew obsolete and failed to secure a heritage listing for the now-demolished structure.

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