Perrault's Colonnade divided into five parts, is a typical solution of French classicism. The simple character of the ground floor basement sets off the paired Corinthian columns, modeled strictly according to Vitruvius, against a shadowed void, with pavilions at the ends. This idea of coupled columns on a high podium goes back as far as Bramante. Those rhythmical columns form a shadowed colonnade with a central pedimented triumphal arch entrance raised on a high, rather defensive base. Crowned by an uncompromising Italian balustrade along its distinctly non-French flat roof, the whole ensemble represents a ground-breaking departure in French architecture. Perrault (1613–1688) won
Royal Automobile Club of Australia building casebook example of the features and aesthetic aspirations of this architectural style, as transposed from the United States to Australian - and here particularly Sydney - conditions. This aesthetic/architectural significance is enhanced by the relatively high degree of intactness of the building's major features and fabric, particularly on the main exterior elevations, including the face-brick and stonework, steel windows and doors, and the fine stone and wrought iron colonnade. Internally, key spaces such as the main entry hall with its marble floor and column cladding, the dining room with its coffered ceiling and lead-light glazed dome and major function and