BNZ Tower

The State Insurance Building is a skyscraper at 1 Willis Street in Wellington, New Zealand, formerly named the BNZ Centre. At the time of its completion in 1984, it was the tallest building in New Zealand, overtaking the 87m Quay Tower in Auckland. It is notable for its strong, square, black form, in late International Style modernism, and for a trade dispute which delayed the construction by a decade. It remained the tallest building in New Zealand until 1986, and is currently the second tallest building in Wellington. BNZ (Bank of New Zealand) began purchasing land for the building in 1969. Approval to build was granted by the Town Planning Committee on June 14, 1972, after the building codes were rewritten to allow the development...