ARCHITECTURE  –

The provisional Parliament House was designed in the twenties as a temporary structure to meet the needs of Federal Parliamentarians for fifty years. The design and construction of a permanent building was left as a challenge for posterity. Parliament decided in 1979, to accept posterity’s challenge and build a new Parliament House to serve Australia in the 21st Century and beyond. An initial target date of 1988 was set, to coincide with the Si-Centennial celebrations. The task of executing this complex project was given to the Parliament House Construction Authority, of which I am proud to be the Chairman. The Authority was specially formed for this one task and has assembled a highly skilled team to carry out Parliament’s commission. To find an architect we conducted a design competition which resulted in the selection of the winning architectural firm of Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorp. Their concept was so innovative, practical and appealing that it has met with almost universal acclaim since it was unveiled in June 1980. In the year since then, a great deal of effort has been spent in refining the design concept, in consultation with the users of the future building. This has culminated in this Schematic Design which we are confident has reached the stage where it can be presented to Parliament as the basis for approval to proceed with the construction of the new building.

• 24 p. : ill. (some col.), map, plans ; 30 cm. (Various newspaper articles and pamphlets inserted.)
• Parliament House (Canberra, A.C.T.)
• Proposed government buildings. Canberra. New parliament house. Architectural design
• Architecture — Australian Capital Territory — Canberra — Designs and plans
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