[1] By the mid-1970s, with cutbacks in commonwealth funding, the original plan was reduced to the main Tower and smaller 11-level Building 2 next door.

The building was officially opened on 15 October 1979 by the NSW Premier Neville Wran where the Tower was declared the tallest educational facility in Australia at the time.

[4][5][6] Journalist and author Mike Carlton described it as "a menacing concrete monolith in an architectural genre that the old East German Stasi brought to perfection".

[7] The Tower's visibility in the central business district skyline has also been described positively, as marking Sydney as a University town.

"[10][11] As part of the UTS Campus Master Plan, Building 2 next to the Tower was demolished in 2016/2017 to make way for a vibrant new student hub and faculty space for the university.