Walter Bunning of the firm Bunning and Madden designed the building, which the article describes as Late Twentieth Century Stripped Classical. Construction started in 1961, and Prime Minister John Gorton opened it on August 15, 1968. It cost 8 million Australian dollars and replaced an earlier Kings Avenue building by Edwin Hubert Henderson, built in 1934.
The materials include marble, granite, bronze, slate, trachyte and copper. The foyer has marble, stained-glass windows by Leonard French and three Aubusson tapestries by Mathieu Matégot. Tom Bass's copper Lintel Sculpture sits over the entrance.
The building has been on the Commonwealth Heritage List since June 22, 2004. Australian residents may register for free to request items for the reading rooms. The article gives no building dimensions.
Comments