| Mutual Building | |
|---|---|
Mutual Gebou | |
 The front of the building, in Darling Street, Cape Town | |
  Location in central Cape Town | |
| Alternative names | Mutual Heights, Old Mutual Building |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial converted to residential |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Address | 14 Darling Street |
| Town or city | Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Coordinates | 33°55′27″S 18°25′20″E / 33.92417°S 18.42222°E |
| Completed | 1939 |
| Inaugurated | 1940 |
| Renovated | 2005 |
| Owner | Mutual Heights Body Corporate |
| Height | 84 metres (276 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Reinforced concrete, granite cladding |
| Floor count | 12 plus 3 levels basement parking |
| Lifts/elevators | 7 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Fred Glennie |
| Architecture firm | Louw & Louw |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | Robert Silke |
| Renovating firm | Louis Karol |
| Structural engineer | Murray & Roberts |
| Awards and prizes | South African Institute of Architects, Presidents Award 2008 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Mutual Building (Afrikaans: Mutual Gebou), in Cape Town, South Africa, was built as the headquarters of the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society, now the "Old Mutual" insurance and financial services company. It was opened in 1940, but before the end of the 1950s—less than 20 years later—business operations were already moving to another new office at Mutual Park in Pinelands (north east of the city centre); since then Old Mutual has become an international business and their present head office is in Johannesburg.
The building is a fine example of art deco architecture and design, and it has many interesting internal features such as the banking hall, assembly room, directors' board room; external features include a dramatic ziggurat structure, prismoid (triangular) windows, and one of the longest carved stone friezes in the world. It has been said that it provides evidence of the colonial attitudes of the time, and the "ideals of colonial government promulgated by Rhodes in the late nineteenth century".[1]
The Mutual Building is now converted to residential use, although some parts of the building are used commercially. For example, the Banking Hall (which is now an events venue) and the retail shops that operate outside on the ground level.