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by Erica Martin

The gentle waters of Lake Burley Griffin will provide the perfect frame for the newest national cultural precinct in Canberra. The Minister for the Arts and the Centenary of Federation, Peter McGauran, signalled the official start to construction on the Peninsula in early March by opening the site office and a display of design images of the cultural facilities.

The National Museum of Australia and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies will open as the Commonwealth flagship for the Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001.

At the opening, the Minister said 'the start of construction is great news, not just for people in the Canberra region, but for all Australians, as the dream of a permanent home for the National Museum becomes a reality.'

The new home for these national cultural facilities and the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre has magnificent views across the lake to Parliament House and the buildings themselves will reflect the natural environment of the peninsula.

'The exterior finishes feature the green of the eucalypt, the bronze of an outback sunrise or the deep mauve of sunset over the ocean. These are the colours selected for the buildings which will house our stories - the stories of Australia and its people,' the Minister said.

The design of the Museum is an example of the progressive and inventive strands of architecture in Australia, according to Professor Michael Keniger.

Professor Keniger is Head of the Department of Architecture and the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Queensland and a member of the Design Integrity Panel for the Acton Peninsula Project.

'The project embodies the vitality of Australia's evolving society and evokes the many overlays and interactions to be found between the ancient and the new, and between the Indigenous, colonial and migrant cultures,' he said.

'It deliberately sets out to be anti-monumental and orchestrates the whole of the Acton Peninsula to create a series of spaces, events and experiences that weave between and through the buildings and landscape features to enable the nation's stories to be told with vigour and imagination.'

At the site office and display opening, Mr McGauran also paid tribute to Dr Bill Jonas AM, the Director of the National Museum of Australia who recently announced that he would be taking a new position as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

'Bill's vision and devotion has guided the Museum through a period of significant change and he leaves it well placed to face the future with confidence,' he said.

Dr Jonas explained that the National Museum of Australia will bring artefacts and technology together, adding 'it is the concept of integration which will make this a great museum for the 21st Century'.

'The museum will integrate its main themes of Indigenous cultures, social history and environmental relationships by adopting the more focused topics of Land, Nation and People.

'Objects and technologies will be integrated to best present the Australian experience; indoor exhibits will be integrated with outdoor activities; and exhibitions will be integrated with the amazingly wonderful architecture of this building,' Jonas said.

The project is being delivered by an innovative method where all the stakeholders join together in a 'project alliance'.

The Acton Peninsula Alliance consists of the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, the ACT Government, Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan (architects in association), Civil and Civic (building contractors), Tyco International (services contractors), Honeywell (service contractors), and Anway and Company (exhibition designers).

According to the Chair of the Acton Peninsula Alliance, Paul McDonald, the alliance partners are jointly responsible for the total project results and work cooperatively to achieve agreed costs, time and quality targets - providing the best possible assurances that the project will be completed on time and within the budget of $152 million.

'With the combination of this spectacular site, tremendously exciting architecture, leading-edge design in exhibitions and a first in project delivery through alliancing - this is a very special project, not just locally or nationally, but on the international stage,' McDonald said.

A display of design images and the exterior finishes of the buildings will be open to the public at the National Capital Exhibition at Regatta Point in Canberra until the buildings open in 2001. Special open days will held on site throughout construction so the public can get to know their museum from the ground up.

Contact

Juanita Trent, Construction Coordination Taskforce 02 6245 4041 or email acton.peninsula@dcita.gov.au

• Document ID: 11475 |
• Last modified: 5 February 2008, 6:05pm