The visual character of the Parliamentary Zone should be enhanced and developed with a combination of landscape and architecture that recognises Australian diversity and continues to demonstrate innovation and excellence.

Character

The Parliamentary Zone is a splendid example of landscape and city planning boldly integrated with the landform of the Molonglo Valley. The valley’s limestone plains have been transformed into a formal space, and the Molonglo River into a lake of beauty and drama.

Prior to Canberra becoming the National Capital, the landscape was one of cleared grazing land that had replaced indigenous vegetation. In the Parliamentary Zone nothing remains of this original vegetation. Today the landscape is comprised of fragments, most of which have been developed as settings for specific buildings. What holds these fragments together is the Griffin geometrical plan, especially the boldness and simplicity of the Land Axis and Lake Burley Griffin.

The character of the Zone reflects several major development periods. The first occurred in the 1920s with the creation of Old Parliament House and the associated gardens and formal spaces of Parkes Place. The second, from 1950 to 1970, included the construction of Lake Burley Griffin and the National Library of Australia and included a mix of deciduous and Australian species to accentuate the Land Axis and lakeshore. The third occurred in the 1980s with the construction of the High Court of Australia and National Gallery of Australia and the subtle planting of Australian species in the gallery’s Sculpture Garden.

The last major development in 1988, was Parliament House. This project was the result of an international design competition and it demonstrated how architecture, landscape and art could be successfully brought together. The process of building Parliament House renewed interest in Australian design and advanced Australian craftsmanship.

Over the years, development of the Parliamentary Zone has been of a high standard and representative of the different design styles, values and craftsmanship of successive generations.

Many Australians, however, find the formal and intensively maintained parkland character unfamiliar and hard to reconcile with their own landscape and urban experiences.

Indigenous people have had little opportunity to participate in the development of the Parliamentary Zone, other than by way of protest and through the mosaic by Michael Nelson Tjakamarra in the forecourt of Parliament House.