Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the legislative body of Australia's federal level of government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is situated on the southern apex of the Parliamentary Triangle atop Capital Hill, at the meeting point of Commonwealth, Adelaide, Canberra and Kings Avenue enclosed by the State Circle.
Parliament House
1981
1988
9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
$1.1 billion
107 metres (351 feet)
250,000 m2
(2,700,000 sq ft)
Mitchell Giurgola & Thorp Architects
Irwinconsult
Parliament House was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp Architects and built by Concrete Constructions and John Holland joint venture.[1] It was opened on 9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. It cost more than $1.1 billion (equivalent to about $4.9 billion in 2022) to build.[2]
Federal Parliament meetings were held in Melbourne until 1927. Between 1927 and 1988, the Parliament of Australia met in the Provisional Parliament House, which is now known as Old Parliament House. The construction of Australia's permanent Parliament House was delayed while its location was debated. Construction of the new building began in 1981. The principal design of the structure is two large curved walls that divides the structure into four quadrants: clockwise these are the formal entrance and event space, the House of Representatives, the executive wing and the Senate. These walls are sunken into the hill so that the building appears to emerge from the land, rather that towering over those beneath it. The ability for people to walk on the grass roofs over their representatives also represents the people being above the government. The entire structure is surmounted by an 81-metre (266 ft) flagpole flying the Australian Flag. The flag is the largest in the country, measuring 6.4 metres (21 feet) by 12.8 metres (42 feet) around the size of a double-decker bus.[2]
The Parliament House contains 4,700 rooms, and many areas are open to the public. The main foyer contains a marble staircase and leads to the Great Hall, which has a large tapestry on display based on the Arthur Boyd painting Untitled (Shoalhaven Landscape).[3] The House of Representatives chamber is decorated green, while the Senate chamber has a red colour scheme. Between the two chambers is the Members' Hall, which has a water feature and is not open to the public. The executive wing houses the cabinet room, the Prime Minister's Office and other ministerial offices.
Layout[edit]
Forecourt[edit]
Visitors enter Parliament House through the forecourt, surrounded on each side by a slowly rising wall and approaching the entrance which mirrors that of Old Parliament House, despite the massive increase in scale. The gravel of sunburnt red and the green fountain represents the outback, the bush and the billabong, all symbolic of Australia. This and a large mosaic, Possum and Wallaby Dreaming, emphasises the enduring Aboriginal connection to the land. The mosaic is 196-square-metre (2,110 sq ft) forecourt mosaic and was designed by Indigenous Australian artist Michael Nelson Jagamarra. It depicts the tracks of several native animals (in white) moving towards the central circle, representing that Canberra is a gathering place.[17][18][19] The style is reminiscent of the traditional sand paintings of the artists tribe, located near Papunya. Three stonemasons took 18 months to two years to hand-cut the 90,000 granite setts[17][18] which were used in the 196-square-metre (2,110 sq ft) artwork.[20] The mosaic was digitised in April 2019 from a series of photographs taken from five metres above the artwork.[18]
Foyer[edit]
The main entrance opens into the foyer, the most monumental and luxuriously decorated space in the building. As this is the primary public space in the building, this again represents the greater importance of the people as compared to their representatives. The floor is of polished black and white marble, in which on one step a fossilised ancient prawn can be seen. In contrast to the expanse of the forecourt, the foyer is filled with grey-green columns, their colour of gum trees. These are inspired by various column supported temples, such as the Hypostyle Hall of the Great Temple of Ammon, Karnak and the Hall of the Hundred Column in the Palace of Persepolis. The columns also provides a reference point to visitors, with the columns acting as a human size natural gathering point. To the left and right are two enormous staircases facing each other, modelled on the those of the Doge's Palace in Venice. Collectively, these ancient European styles represent the influence on European culture in Australia and specifically the ancient Greek and Roman notions of democracy.
Around the room are 20 timber marquetry panels depicting Australian flora and fauna, once again proving a link to the land. Six of the panels depicts the animal, flower and bird emblems of each of the states, a concept that evolved from a previous proposal to depict the coats of arms of the states. Other panels shows plants used by Aboriginal people and those important to early settlers
Function events[edit]
The new Parliament House is a central hub for events in Canberra, hosting many of the nation's largest and most important function events. The Parliament House is a place for meetings, conferences (government, and private), celebrations, and other miscellaneous uses. The Parliament House is one of the few parliament houses in the world where private events are permitted.[39] The Parliament House has 14 event spaces that can be used for special events.
Solar power project[edit]
In 2011, the Department of Parliamentary Services commissioned a pilot 43.3 kW photovoltaic system on the roof of Parliament House in Canberra. The system is split between two locations, with 192 panels installed on the Senate wing with the remaining 42 panels on the roof of the Gardeners' Compound.[40] At the time of construction, the system was one of the largest installed for solar power in Australia.
According to the Department of Parliamentary Services, the system was switched on in June 2011 and has performed as expected by providing enough power for lighting in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.[40] This equates to an approximate saving of $9,000 which is expected to rise to $17,000 annually.
The system received an award from the Clean Energy Council in 2012 for "Best design and installation of a grid-connect power system greater than 10 kW".[41]
Engineering heritage award[edit]
Both the old and new Parliament House received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[42]
Criminal acts[edit]
There have been repeated allegations of criminal acts committed in the Australian Parliament house; these included the 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations. In 1992, a vehicle was driven through the glass front doors into the Great Hall[43]