Melbourne's Swanston Street is one of Australia's great civic axes. We'd been working this axis since 1994, completing projects along its entire length: Melbourne Central, Hamer Hall, the Shrine's own undercroft and forecourts. At the corner of Swanston and Victoria streets the Barak Building is a fitting termination point for the civic spine of the city.

At the southern end: the Shrine, a monument to a new nation's war dead. At the northern end: William Barak, the last traditional ngurungaeta (senior elder) of the Wurundjeri-willam clan. Artist, advocate for Aboriginal social justice, and respected authority on Wurundjeri cultural lore, Barak worked all his life to protect the rights and culture of his people. His face on the building recognises the history and ongoing presence of Aboriginal nations on the land where Melbourne now stands.

ARM worked closely with Barak's family and the Wurundjeri community throughout. The image was meticulously developed and technically resolved – 411 unique double-curved panels across 35 floors, no two the same, white composite against black balcony slabs. From the Shrine, the face is unmistakable. Move closer and it dissolves into the dynamic effect of curved, sculpted balconies.

Inside, a communal skydeck on level 31 replaces the usual penthouse, its panoramic views shared by all residents. With 1990s zoning changes, the building was among the first to crack open the northern CBD for residential use – 530 apartments on a city block that had sat fenced and ignored since the mid-1980s.