Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and
Drainage Board
339-341 Pitt Street, Sydney
1936-39 HEBudden ft Mackey

Following the success of ‘Railway House’ (436),
architects Budden and Mackey were asked to
design offices for the MWSDB, to be built on the
site which they then occupied. The seven-storey
building is faced with cream coloured faience tiles, set at times on very tight curves running vertically up the service core. The remainder of the building expresses streamlined ‘horizontality’, featuring bas-relief sculpture, an extensive use of red granite, and a colonnade of curved black
granite piers. The upper floors contain offices, a
library, lecture hall and lunch room. The sculpture
by Melbourne artist Stanley Hammond is said to
represent the benefits of water to passers—by.
During 1964 and 1965, when it was decided
to enlarge the accommodation, architects
McConnel, Smith and Johnson designed an
adjoining tower rather than extend the floors, as
had been originally anticipated.