Parliament House
Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp · Canberra, Australia · 1988
Australia’s Parliament House is conceived as a building integrated into Capital Hill rather than placed on top of it as an isolated monument. Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp organized the enormous parliamentary program beneath sweeping grass-covered roofs, curved walls and a strong central axis aligned with Walter Burley Griffin’s plan of Canberra. Public circulation, ceremonial rooms and the two legislative chambers are gathered around a monumental internal sequence beneath the flag mast. Opened in 1988, the building combines symbolic national representation with an unusually landscape-driven approach to institutional architecture.