The Maxwell Roberts Building by Corner Development, had a fascinating and drawn out birth. Initially the development of the site was a fun idea without a client.

It was doodled in a sketchbook on a Saturday morning by the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association pool during training.

The idea was a solution for housing utilising one bedroom hotel suites as the model.

The site was limited to the narrow southern portion of the current site, the LA White building also known as ‘The Buckaroo Building’.

There were four suites per floor and six floors with lower floor to floor heights enabled by using a poured in place concrete structure.

Months later, this idea was embraced with the current developer but an office use was sought although two penthouse apartments were later included as a possibility.

The Department of Planning, to its credit, realised that the zoning was overly restrictive and supported a building taller than the footprint seemed to allow.

A competing professional objected to the building, which was a considerable surprise.

The Inspector did not support the basis of the objection but supported the rejection on other grounds.

The Minister of the Environment supported the Inspector’s decision. As a result of this additional property was bought to the north (The ‘Chinese Building), the design was mirrored around the corner and the corner celebrated more.

The design of the building was purposely chosen to be contemporary based on the philosophy that creative work should be of its time.

A modern building designed and built in Bermuda is no less Bermudian; other buildings have reflected their own period in a Bermudian setting and genre and have become part of our culture.

A contemporary approach was also felt to be an appropriate response given its location in Hamilton’s business district.

The design was folded and distilled numerous times developing each time on the various thoughts of the Architects. The following principles came to govern the final product:

[bul]Larger buildings are more successful when they are white.

[bul]The interplay of light and shadow can and will enliven the building and its form should encourage this.

[bul]Colour can be explored in the glass of large buildings versus in the colour of the walls.

[bul]Slender and vertical proportions yield graceful structures.

[bul]Interesting forms are entertaining.

In addition to this, the building became an essay in fenestration. It integrates a variety of windows from punched openings in walls with a deep recesses, to ribbon windows projected forwards and also curtain wall glazing that is continuous from floor to ceiling set behind columns.

The wall is also expressed in a variety of ways from column to pier to opening to portal and even no solid wall at all.

Landscape design was purposely considered. First it is located on the south face of the building so that it has a reasonable sized planter and the best natural environment.

This has in turn freed up the west elevation for the café. The planting itself is unique in that it is climbing vines on stainless steel cables so that there is a slender and controlled mass that is visually significant but manageable.

The interior is contemporary and spacious although slender given the narrow ‘L’ shape of the plan. Corner development is a significant building for Hamilton.

It occupies one of the City’s busiest corners and is visible from many directions. It anchors not only the corner of its block but the entire intersection as well. Its forward looking design intends to centre the business district and to inspire all creative minds to not be afraid to pursue interesting solutions to difficult problems.