Parliament House in Canberra was designed by Romaldo Giurgola of Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp for the Parliament House Construction Authority, created in 1978. The infobox gives groundbreaking on September 18, 1980 and construction start on January 21, 1981. It opened on May 9, 1988, after missing a January 1988 target.
The walls sink into Capital Hill under grass roofs, and a stainless steel flagpole 266 feet (81 m) high marks the top. The infobox gives 351 feet (107 m) for height without explanation. It covers 32 hectares (79 acres) with about 2.7 million square feet (250,000 m²) of floor area, using mostly Australian granite, marble foyer floors and timber marquetry. Room counts differ, at over 4,500 in the infobox and 4,700 in the text.
It cost over $1.1 billion against an original estimate of $220 million. Public galleries, tours and a café are open, while the Members' Hall is restricted.
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