This striking urban composition evokes mystery and stokes the imagination. A pure concrete cube, proportioned into component parts, is embellished with apertures and patterned metal screens. Against a strict brief for security, secrecy and separation, the architects have incorporated a generous verandah and carefully deployed texture and shadow to offer restful solidity to the city’s glass-fronted urban landscape. On closer inspection, a cultural interplay befitting its purpose is revealed: the patterning of lace-like Corten steel by artist Morgan Mathews-Hale depicts kōwhai and cherry blossoms. The design response delves into the contrasts between two cultures – solid and void, strength and delicacy.