Overview
William Clayton designed Government Buildings in the Renaissance Revival style, sometimes called Italianate Classicism. The building has many features that imitate stone. The entrances, for example, feature unfluted Doric columns. The lines of weatherboard simulate layers of brick or stone. The blocks nailed onto corners look like cornerstones, and the richly decorated eaves recall the cornices of classical architecture.
Certain features of the building’s architecture have often been admired. The horizontal bands are said to give it a graceful, relaxed look. Also, the window surrounds are decorated differently on each storey. The ground-level windows have heads designed to look like stone arches while the ones above have triangular pediments. The second-floor windows are capped with rectangular hoods and those on the top floor are plainest of all. This variation creates visual interest without destroying the overall pattern.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database.