ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

CITY NAME
AN INTEGRATED SPATIAL ANALYSIS

A Report
Submitted to the Architectural Engineering Department
Faculty of Engineering – Alexandria University
Course Title: Theory of Urban Planning (CAE509c)

By:
Name #1
Name #2
Name #3
Name #4

Undergraduate Students, 10th Term.

2022
Supervised by:

Prof. Dr. Hany Mohamed Ayad

Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University

Eng. Manar Talal

Teaching Assistant, Department of Architecture.
Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University

Eng. Sarah Essam

Teaching Assistant, Department of Architecture.
Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University
Contents

List of Figures ............................................................................................................... III

List of Tables .................................................................................................................IV

1 | Introduction .......................................................................................................... 2
1.1. Purpose of Report ........................................................................................................... 2
1.2. Working team ................................................................................................................. 2
1.3. Methods of analyses ....................................................................................................... 2
1.4. Main findings / conclusion ............................................................................................. 2

2 | Geographic Context ............................................................................................. 3

2.1. Location .......................................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Surrounding Morphology ............................................................................................... 3

3 | Historical Context ................................................................................................ 6

3.1. Establishment ................................................................................................................. 6
3.2. Development................................................................................................................... 9
3.3. Main historical events/activities ................................................................................... 14

4 | Current Situation ............................................................................................... 21

4.1. Current Uses ................................................................................................................. 21
4.2. Physical description ...................................................................................................... 21

5 | Urban Analysis ................................................................................................... 22

5.1. Approaches and Entrances............................................................................................ 22
5.2. Landuses ....................................................................................................................... 22
5.3. Main open spaces and relation between different types of spaces. .............................. 22

6 | Selected Open Space .......................................................................................... 23

6.1. Description ................................................................................................................... 23
6.2. Hardscape Elements ..................................................................................................... 23
6.3. Softscape Elements ....................................................................................................... 23

7 | Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................ 24

7.1. Assets and Advantages ................................................................................................. 24
7.2. Issues and disadvantages .............................................................................................. 24
7.3. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 24

I
8 | List of References ............................................................................................... 25

II
List of Figures

Figure 1: xxxx .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 2: xxxx .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

III
List of Tables

Table 1: xxxx ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Table 2: xxxx ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

IV
1
1 | Introduction

1.1. Purpose of Report

1.2. Working team

1.3. Methods of analyses

1.4. Main findings / conclusion

2
2 | Geographic Context

This Chapter describes the geographic context of the city of Canberra

2.1. Location
Canberra is located in the south-east part of Australia within the Murray–Darling
Basin. It is the capital city of Australia and the largest in-land city otherwise eight
largest city of Australia. Fig.2.1.a shows the map.

It occupies part of the Australian Capital Territory and parts of New South Wales, in
southeastern Australia, and is about 240 km southwest of Sydney. Canberra lies
astride the Molonglo River, which is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River as shown
in fig.2.1.b.

2.2. Surrounding Morphology

Canberra’s area is 4,202 km² while its population is 467,194

- TOPOGRAPHY
Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by American
architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and
construction commenced in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs
such as circles, hexagons, and triangles, and was centered on axes aligned with
significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory. The city's
design was influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant
areas of natural vegetation. Fig.2.2.a shows a topographic map for the city.

- LAND USE
❖ The Canberra urban area is the major population center in the region. It
accounts for 11% of the region's land use and is home to approximately
460,000 residents.
❖ Conservation and natural environment areas account for 47% of the region's
land use and are particularly extensive over the south and west of the region.

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 ❖ 29% of the region is used for grazing, which is a key land use activity outside
the urban centers as shown in fig.2.2.b.

- WATER RESOURCES
❖ Most of the region's water supply comes from surface water, including a small
volume of water transferred from outside the region to supply the
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council service area.
❖ Groundwater resources are used primarily for town supply and stock and
domestic purposes. Recycled wastewater is used for treatment plant operations
and irrigation of sports fields.
❖ The three main rivers in the Canberra region are the Molonglo, Cotter and
Queanbeyan rivers, which all contribute to the Murrumbidgee River can be
seen in fig.2.2.c.
❖ The Murrumbidgee is the largest river that flows through the Canberra region,
draining much of southern New South Wales and all of the Australian Capital
Territo

- GROUNDWATER
There are three groundwater management areas in the Canberra region: the Australian
Capital Territory, the Lachlan Fold Belt, and the Yass Catchment. The Lachlan Fold Belt and
Yass Catchment groundwater management areas extend beyond the region's boundaries as
shown in fig.2.2.d.

Figure 2.1.a

Figure 2.1.b

4
Figure 2.2.a Figure 2.2.b

Figure 2.2.c Figure 2.2.d

5
3 | Historical Context

3.1. Establishment
The history of Canberra details the development of the city of Canberra from the time before
European settlement to the city's planning by the Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin in
collaboration with Marion Mahony Griffin, and its subsequent development to the present day.

Pre-colonisation history

Before European settlement, the area which eventually became the Australian Capital
Territory was inhabited by Indigenous Australians, who spoke an Ngarigo dialect.
Historical sources have identified them as different tribes with a range of names.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the region includes inhabited rock shelters,
rock paintings and engravings, burial places, camps and quarry sites, and stone tools
and arrangements. The evidence suggests human habitation in the area for at least
21,000 years.

European exploration began in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. Canberra was
"discovered" on 7 December 1820 by Charles Throsby Smith, Joseph Wild and James
Vaughan. Overall, four successive expeditions whose routes took in the Canberra area
were those of Charles Throsby (Oct 1820), Charles Throsby Smith (Dec 1820), Major
John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie (1823), and Allan Cunningham (1824). All four
expeditions explored the course of the Limestone now Molonglo River that is now the
site of Lake Burley Griffin. Smith and Cunningham also penetrated further south, into
what is now called the Tuggeranong Valley.

It was estimated by Robertson that prior to European settlement starting in 1824,

depending on the season there were about 300-400 Aboriginals living in the Molonglo,
Queanbeyan, Canberra, Namadgi region. As the settlers took over land, many
Aboriginals migrated to other districts such as Cooma and Tumut.

6
The population was also significantly reduced when the death rate increased
significantly due to diseases introduced by the Europeans. By the 1880s there were no
full-blood people in the district, with only some fifty mixed race people. These people
were employed either as labourers or domestics on stations. Due to the lack of European
women, many white men had relationships with mixed race women so even further
diluting Aboriginal heritage.

European settlements

The first European settlement of the area, later

known as the Limestone Plains (or ‘Manarro’,
as it was called by local Aboriginal people),
occurred when Joshua John Moore established
a station at what is now Acton (site of the
National Museum of Australia) in 1823. When
he sought to purchase the land in December
1826, he referred to the location as ‘Canbery’,
a name later used with various spellings for all
the surrounding areas. The local Aboriginal
people were referred to by early white writers
as the ‘Kamberra’, ‘Kghambury’, ‘Nganbra’
and ‘Gnabra’, all of which share some
resemblance to ‘Canberra’ - the name of the
capital announced at the Foundation Stone
Ceremony by Lady Denman on 12 March 1913. There is little doubt that ‘Canberra’ is
an anglicised version of the Aboriginal words, which is said to mean ‘meeting place’.

Robert Campbell’s station was the second to be established in the Canberra district.
Campbell, a wealthy Scottish merchant, was promised a 4 000-acre (1 618 hectares)
grant as compensation for the loss of one of his ships. A site was chosen at Pialligo,
where Campbell eventually had a substantial residence erected, which he named
Duntroon. Duntroon became an important grazing property and remained with the
Campbell family until it was taken over by the Commonwealth in 1910 as the site of
the Royal Military College. Blundells Cottage, built in the 1860s, is one of the few
remaining stone worker’s dwellings, part of the Duntroon estate.

Further settlement occurred near the Murrumbidgee River in 1834 on a property named
Lanyon, after John Lanyon the joint owner. His partner James Wright ran sheep and
cattle, relying mainly on convict labour. Financial difficulties forced Wright to sell
Lanyon to Andrew Cunningham in 1848 and move to Cuppacumbalong across the
Murrumbidgee River. Andrew Cunningham erected a large, new residence at Lanyon
and continued to develop the property, adding to it with the purchase of other grants,
including Tuggeranong. His sons ran the two properties for many years. Many of the
local Aboriginal people worked on the stations in the area.

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Today, Lanyon is still a working property. Both Lanyon and Tuggeranong Homesteads
are open to the public. Around this period, in the same area, William Farrer engaged in
the experimental development of strains of rustproof wheat at Lambrigg station. Farrer
made a singular contribution to the Australian wheat industry and is recognised
worldwide. He and his wife are buried on a hill behind Lambrigg, their graves being
marked by a monument.

Another station which contributed greatly to the development of the district was
Yarralumla. Frederick Campbell (a relative of the Campbell family at Duntroon)
purchased the property in 1881 and had a new residence built, which has since become
Government House, residence of the Governor-General of Australia. The 1860s and
1870s witnessed a new wave of European settlement. The Robertson Land Act of 1861
allowed Crown land to be purchased in much smaller lots. This heralded a rush by
poorer settlers to purchase small areas, where they often eked out an existence in
difficult circumstances. St John the Baptist Church has been at the centre of life in the
district since the 1840s and was officially consecrated on 12 March 1845. A
schoolhouse adjoining the Church was also open from the early 1840s. As settlement
took place in the outlying areas, additional schools were founded and new villages were
gazetted at Tharwa (near Lanyon) in 1862, and Hall in 1882. Both Tharwa and Hall
retain their ‘village’ heritage to this day. The first bridge in the district across the
Murrumbidgee River was opened at Tharwa in 1895.

Opportunities for recreation and sport had been very limited in the early years of
settlement but, as the population increased, woolshed dances, balls, concerts, athletic
sports and cricket were organised. The best cricketer in the area in the 1850s-60s was
an Aboriginal man, Johnny Taylor. By the 1870s itinerant entertainers and circuses
began to visit the district. By the turn of the century, the district which is now the
Australian Capital Territory was an established wool and grain producing area, with
some stations well known for breeding horses and cattle.

8
3.2. Development
Development and growth

Canberra's growth over the first few

decades was slow, and Canberra was
indeed far more a small country town than
a capital before World War II. It was
noted for being more trees and fields than
houses. Cattle grazing near Parliament
House was a common occurrence,
something which amazed General
Macarthur when he visited Canberra
during World War II.

The responsible government minister, King O'Malley, drove the first survey peg in the
Canberra area on 20 February 1913 to mark the commencement of work on the new
city. As we have seen, on 12 March that same year, the city was formally named by the
Governor-General's wife, Lady Denman, at a ceremony held on Capital Hill, the site of
Australia's current Parliament House.

The construction of the capital began in what is now North Canberra and South
Canberra. The pace of building work was slower than expected because of the outbreak
of World War I in 1914 and a dispute between Griffin and various Commonwealth
bureaucrats. In 1917, a Royal Commission determined that these individuals had
undermined Griffin's authority by supplying false data to him, which he had used in
carrying out his work. Ultimately, Griffin resigned from the Canberra design project in
1920, when he discovered that several of these same people had been appointed to
the Federal Capital Advisory Committee formed to oversee Canberra's construction.

Initially almost all construction work in the capital was undertaken by Commonwealth
instrumentalities. Government-built housing, required to accommodate the public
servants transferred from interstate, formed the basis for Canberra's first suburbs. The
suburbs that were slowly built over the next several years included Parkes, Barton,
Kingston, Manuka, Braddon and Reid. These suburbs often had other names – for
instance, Kingston was originally known as Eastlake – before a formal renaming
procedure took place in 1928. They were erected largely in accordance to Walter Burley
Griffin's designs for Canberra. The men who constructed these suburbs lived in a series
of workers' camps, which consisted of tents and some brick cottages. Building materials
were obtained from quarries in the North Canberra area. A temporary railway was used
to shift materials.

9
A rail line linking Canberra with the town of Queanbeyan across the border in NSW
was constructed just prior to the outbreak of World War I. It opened for
freight/industrial services on 25 May 1914 but was freed up for passenger trains 10
years later. A formal foundation stone for the city was laid by the Prince of Wales, the
future Edward VIII, on 21 June 1920. Additions to Government House at Yarralumla,
as well as building work on the Prime Minister's Lodge and what is now "Old
Parliament House", were also carried out during this pivotal period.

In 1918, an internment camp for German World War I prisoners-of-war was established
in Canberra's eastern outskirts, in what is nowadays the suburb of Fyshwick. This camp
instead housed mainly civilian internees transferred there from facilities in other
locations such as the NSW town of Bourke. After 1919, the old internment became a
workers' camp. In later years, the camp was closed and the roads that had serviced it
were turned into urban streets.

Canberra's first blocks of land for residential and commercial use were sold by auction
on 12 December 1924. Buildings were subsequently erected on these allotments, but
their residents endured a gruelling start to their occupancy when a flood struck Canberra
in February 1925. The flood came about as the result of the Molonglo River bursting
its banks. The surging water threatened or damaged many structures, and some
drownings resulted.

Canberra's first school, Telopea Park School, had already been opened in 1923. Public
transport became available in July 1925, and two shopping areas were established at
Manuka and Kingston in 1925. The year 1927 saw the opening of a cinema at Manuka
and an Australian Capital Territory police force was formed. Also in 1927, the fledgling
city's CBD was officially established. It was meant to be called Civic Centre, but then
Prime Minister Stanley Bruce vetoed the idea and it became officially known as City
Centre. However, City Centre is still commonly referred to by Canberrans as "Civic".

Canberra's workforce did not escape the adverse effects of the Great Depression when
it hit Australia in 1929. In 1930, around 1800 labour-force workers and about one-
seventh of the Commonwealth Public Service's staff in Canberra were retrenched.
Soon, Canberra's growth ground to a complete halt, with even the governmental agency
supervising its development being abolished for a while.

Some major construction projects planned for the capital,

including Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, were not undertaken due to funds
set aside for their planned construction being diverted for relief measures during the
Depression. Having lost this early impetus, neither denomination has built a major
centre of worship in the capital, although, in 1973, after major extensions, St
Christopher's Catholic Church, Manuka, was raised to the status of Cathedral.

Despite these setbacks, the Canberra community continued to develop in sophistication,

if not in size, with the establishment of community facilities such as a radio station
(2CA) in 1931 (initially run from a shop in the Kingston area), and the amateur dramatic

10
Canberra Repertory Society in 1932. The planning and construction of the Australian
War Memorial under the supervision of the war historian Charles Bean also began in
Canberra at this time. The memorial was eventually completed at the height of World
War II, in 1941, and its opening ceremony was conducted on 11 November of that year.

Embassies and High Commissions began to establish themselves in Canberra during

the 1930s. The United Kingdom appointed their first High Commissioner to Australia
in 1936. Canada appointed a representative in 1937 and the United States of America
opened a mission in 1939 with their first envoy presenting his credentials in 1940. The
United States was the first mission to build its own chancery in 1943. In 1946 Australia
and the US raised the rank of representatives exchanged by the two countries to that of
Ambassador; the American Embassy thus becoming the first embassy to be established
in Canberra. Other countries, such as Sweden, followed soon afterwards. (Nowadays,
Canberra contains a comprehensive array of embassies and other diplomatic missions.)

For all this, Canberra remained a small country town prior to World War II, far more
rural than urban in its nature and size, with little to mark it as Australia's capital other
than Parliament House and the developing War Memorial. Its social centre remained
the Kingston/Manuka area.

11
After World War II

Wartime conditions emphasised the need for an airport. On 1 April 1940, a military air
base, RAAF Station Canberra, was established on a flat plain between Canberra and
Queanbeyan. Later, this was renamed RAAF Fairbairn in memory of the Minister for
Air, James V. Fairbairn, who was killed with a number of other ministers and officials
when an aircraft crashed into a nearby hill in dense fog on 13 August 1940. Canberra
Airport was constructed in the 1960s; the military base and commercial airport share
the same runway.

Canberra began to grow more rapidly after World War II, as more and more government
departments were transferred from Melbourne to the capital. The Australian National
University was opened as a research institute in 1946. Undergraduate teaching
continued at the Canberra University College, and the two were amalgamated in
1960.[33] Entertainment and cultural organisations also began to flourish with the new
influx of people. Until the opening of the Canberra Theatre Centre in
1965,[34] the Albert Hall was home to a large number of prominent organisations,
including the Canberra Orchestral Society (later the Canberra Symphony Orchestra)
founded in 1950, a new Canberra Philharmonic Society (for musical theatre, 1951) and
the Canberra Choral Society (1952).

Parts of Canberra formed the backdrop for Cold War espionage activity, highlighted
during the 1954 Petrov Affair when a Soviet Union spy defected to Australia. Telopea
Park in south Canberra was a known drop-off point for KGB spies based at the nearby
USSR Embassy. This embassy was constantly monitored by ASIO agents based in the
Kingston Hotel located across the street. There was also an ASIO listening post on the
grounds of Canberra Grammar School. In 1991, with the end of the Cold War and the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the embassy grounds became the Russian Embassy.

In March 1958, the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) took over the
planning and construction of Canberra. Under the control of the NCDC new districts,
such as Woden and Tuggeranong, were established and slowly developed throughout
the 1960s and 1970s to accommodate a growing population. The original design for
Canberra did not extend beyond the central suburbs, and thus it was possible to design
them to take better advantage of the land contours. Woden was established in 1964,
Belconnen in 1967 and Tuggeranong in 1973. These additional districts helped to
encourage large population growth between 1960 and 1975.

The construction of Lake Burley Griffin in central Canberra, along the course of the
Molonglo, was commenced in the early 1960s, based largely on Walter Burley Griffin's
original plans. A move to name it Lake Menzies, after the then Prime Minister Sir
Robert Menzies, was vetoed by Menzies himself. The lake was formed by Scrivener
Dam, named after Charles Scrivener, located at what is now the western end of Lake
Burley Griffin. The dam was completed in 1963, and its valves closed on 20 September
1963, to allow the lake to form. However, the area was in drought at the time and the

12
lake did not actually fill until April 1964, when the drought broke. This allowed the
first event scheduled for the lake, a rowing championship, to take place. In 1970, the
Captain Cook Fountain/Memorial Jet was added, as part of the celebrations held that
year to mark the bicentennial of the discovery of Australia's east coast by Captain James
Cook. The 1971 Canberra flood disaster occurred in the Woden Valley of Canberra
on Australia Day of that year. The flood killed seven people, injured 15 and affected
500 others. Canberra's residents are keen followers and participants in sports, and Bruce
Stadium was opened during 1978.

Among key cultural and civic landmarks, the National Library of Australia building
opened in 1968, the High Court of Australia building opened in 1980, the National
Gallery of Australia building in 1982, the National Museum of Australia building in
2001 and the National Portrait Gallery of Australia building in 2008. All these facilities
and institutions are situated on or near the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

On 9 May 1988, a new, much larger Commonwealth Parliament House was opened on
Capital Hill in State Circle, Parkes. This imposing complex of parliamentary chambers,
public spaces, offices and other facilities replaced the outmoded (Provisional)
Parliament House that had operated close by for some 60 years. The complex's
elaborate opening ceremony was a centrepiece of Australia's bicentenary celebrations,
which were held nationwide to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the First
Fleet from England, and the foundation of European settlement in what was to become
the City of Sydney in 1788.

Significantly, the Australian Capital Territory was granted full self-government in

December 1988, when an act passed by Federal Parliament that made the territory a
body politic under the Crown was signed by Queen Elizabeth II. On 11 May 1989,
following the elections earlier that year, a 17-member Legislative Assembly began
sitting at its offices in London Circuit, Civic. The inaugural ACT government was led
by Chief Minister Rosemary Follett.

In 1992, Canberra was the host city for the 7th Assembly of the World Council of
Churches.

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21st century

In 2000, as a prelude to the commencement of the new century, several

important Sydney 2000 soccer games were played at Bruce Stadium.

On 18 January 2003, bushfires that had been burning in the remote wilderness west of
Canberra broke containment lines and engulfed some of Canberra. About 500 homes
were destroyed before a change in the weather brought the bushfire under control. The
suburb of Duffy was hit especially hard, with some 200 homes destroyed. Four people
died in the conflagration and many more were injured.

The development of Canberra is ongoing. Major new works under construction in

recent years include the Gungahlin Town Centre, City West Precinct and
the Kingston Foreshores Development. On 5 March 2004, the Canberra Spatial Plan for
the city's future development was released. As of 2005 plans were under development
for a new Canberra district to be situated west of Lake Burley Griffin, on land formerly
occupied by a pine plantation.

3.3. Main historical events/activities

1845

The Anglican Church of St John the Baptist the oldest building in Canberra. It was built
in 1845 of sandstone and bluestone. It had an adjoining schoolhouse, which is now a
museum.

1901

EUROPEANISED VISION OF LAKE GEORGE

(Robert) Charles Coulter's Europeanised vision of the Australian national capital at

Lake George, near Canberra, 1901. This image was used on the front cover of the
proceedings of the 'Congress of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Others Interested
in the Building of the Federal Capital of Australia, 1901'—a highly significant
gathering which took place at the same time as the opening of the Commonwealth
Parliament, in May 1901.
Australia's professional
community clearly signalled that it
was not prepared to leave such an
important project as the nation's
capital up to the politicians alone.
Since the 1820s, Lake George has
regularly been, and is today, bone
dry.

14
1908

Minister for Trade and Customs, Austin Chapman, delivers a speech in the
Commonwealth Parliament

on 26 October 1908, stating that: ‘The Capital cannot be dumped down in a day like a
tent. First, the laying out of a great city—a city not for tomorrow, or for next year, but
for all time; a city unique in its beauty and utility, with broad avenues intersecting its
regular squares, with frequent reservations of grass, flowers, and fountains, with its
trees and parks, substantial business houses, and sightly dwellings, its schools,
universities, galleries and museums, its monuments and public buildings, its noble
rivers and picturesque landscape, its rugged mountains and fertile plains, with
Kosciusko in the distance piercing the sky, and lifting itself like a heavenly dome.
These, and many other natural advantages, will offer a noble panorama, and a more
inspiring contemplation than can possibly be afforded by any other city in the world

1909

SURVEYORS' CAMPSITE IN CANBERRA

Surveyor Charles Scrivener's postcard sketch of the surveyors' campsite in Canberra,

23 February 1909 (the huts are still standing today, less than 100 metres from the
Parliament House). While Scrivener and his team are rightly given credit for the final,
elegant survey of Canberra, completed on
25 February 1909, it is worth noting that
they built on the earlier work of a small
number of engineers and surveyors in the
Dept of Public Works of the NSW
Government. Scrivener's personal choice
for the capital was Dalgety.

15
A posed shot for the historic record, taken at the surveyors' camp, February 1909.
Charles Scrivener is seated at right. In producing the final survey, Scrivener was acting
on the memorable instructions of the new Minister for Home Affairs in the Fisher Labor
Government, Hugh Mahon, provided on 21 December 1908: ' … the surveyor will bear
in mind that the Federal Capital should be a beautiful city, occupying a commanding
position, with extensive views, and embracing distinctive features which will lend
themselves to the evolution of a design worthy of the object, not only for the present,
but for all time...' It was a visionary brief!

1911

CANBERRA'S INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION BEGINS

Robert Coulter's 'Cycloramic View of Canberra Capital Site', painted at Camp Hill (a
location originally about half way up Capital Hill). This painting, and another done at
Vernon Hill (now City Hill), were included in the comprehensive information kit that
accompanied the Invitation for Competitors (for the International Design Competition),
sent to all parts of the world in 1911. The comprehensive competition package attracted
137 national and international entries.

16
1912

INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED

Minister for Home Affairs, the legendary King O'Malley (foreground, with beard),
announces the result of the International Design Competition in Melbourne on 23 May
1912. This picture is a veritable 'who's who' of the relevant Australian bureaucrats of
the era, some of whom would become implacable opponents of the Griffins and their
plan for Canberra. They regarded Walter Burley Griffin as an American 'blow-in'.

INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION ENTRIES GO ON DISPLAY

The ballroom of Government House, Melbourne, as the first entries in the International
Design Competition are mounted for display, March 1912. King O'Malley, the
controversial Minister for Home Affairs, is in the light suit, second from the left.
O'Malley's determination to be the competition's final decision-maker prompted the
Royal Institute of British Architects to advise its membership to boycott the
competition. The response was significant, for it no doubt contributed to the choice of
a non-British, state-of-the-art design for Canberra originating in Chicago— the
celebrated home of the Prairie School (which included Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd
Wright) and arguably the leading design city of the world at that time.

17
THE GRIFFIN ENTRY NO.29 WINS THE INTERNATIONAL DESIGN
COMPETITION

One of Marion Mahony Griffin's fourteen superb ('five feet by two feet six inches')
renderings that comprised the Griffin entry no.29 that won the1911-12 International
Design Competition. The renderings were done in the loft at famous Steinway Hall in
Chicago, workplace of the Prairie School of architects. As Paul Reid puts it: 'Something
extraordinary happened in that loft in the autumn of 1911. A small group of architects,
brought up within the expanding confidence of Chicagoans in their ability to improve
the world and nurtured in a brilliant architectural office, were led by the [newlywed
Griffins] to create a new idea: the Organic City'. Canberra had its sustainable, visionary
design. This is a 'Section of the Land Axis'.

MARION MAHONY GRIFFIN'S CELEBRATED 'CITY AND ENVIRONS'

One of two iconic renderings included in the Griffin entry, the celebrated (and, for
some, mystical) 'City and Environs'. Many Griffin buffs maintain that, in this drawing,
you can see a number of hidden, identifiably Australian images.

18
MARION MAHONY GRIFFIN'S 'VIEW FROM SUMMIT OF MOUNT AINSLIE'

The other iconic rendering, 'View from Summit of Mount Ainslie', majestically
displaying the enlargement of Marion Mahony Griffin's 'artistic vocabulary to include
an urban vision', according to Griffin scholar, Christopher Vernon.

1913

KING O'MALLEY DRIVES THE FIRST SURVEY PEG IN BUILDING OF

CANBERRA

Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley, hammers in the first peg to begin the city
of Canberra survey on Capital Hill, 20 February 1913. O'Malley insisted on this small
event, some three weeks before the official Foundation Stones ceremony, no doubt to
ensure that he would have at least one gathering where he did not have to share the
national limelight. Also in the picture are: Colonel W.T.Bridges, commandant of
Duntroon (in military uniform, beneath umbrella, left); Speaker of the House, Charles
McDonald (standing near O'Malley, on right); Canberra's principal surveyor, Charles
Scrivener (far left); and Colonel David Miller, the Administrator of the Federal Capital
Territory (in pith helmet, second from left).

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THE 'LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONES' WITH THREE GOLDEN
TROWELS

On 12 March 1913, three golden trowels were used to lay the first three foundation
stones of the nation's new capital: the first by the Governor-General, Lord Denman; the
second by the Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher; and the third by the Minister for Home
Affairs, King O'Malley. Here, O'Malley lays the third stone, watched by Prime Minister
Fisher.

Historical brief:

In 1901 the different Australian colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia. The
new country needed a capital and both Sydney and Melbourne wanted the honor.
However, in 1908 it was decided to build a new capital in Canberra. A competition to
design the new city was held and in 1912 American architect Walter Burley Griffin
(1876-1937) won it. He planned a garden city with roads in concentric circles.

On 12 March 1913, the foundation stone of Canberra was laid by Prime Minister
Andrew Fisher. However, the First World War interrupted building. Furthermore, the
growth of Canberra was halted by the depression of the 1930s. As a result, Canberra
only really began to grow in the second half of the 20th century. In 1947 Canberra still
only had a population of 15,000. However, by 1967 it had more than 100,000 people.

The Growth of Canberra:

From 1958 to 1989 the National Capital Development Commission oversaw the growth
and development of Canberra. They created 4 new towns, Woden-Weston Creek,
Belconnen, Tuggeranong, and Gungahlin.

Walter Burley Griffin Lake was created in 1963 by damming the Molonglo River.
Captain Cook Memorial Jet was added in 1970. It sprays water 147 meters into the air.
n Naturally as the seat of government Canberra is the home of many important buildings

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4 | Current Situation

4.1. Current Uses

4.2. Physical description

(Building heights, piazzas and open spaces, road system/network…)

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5 | Urban Analysis

5.1. Approaches and Entrances

[location of entrances, main features in the surroundings of the city, type of
circulation (pedestrian, vehicles, mixed, other) in and around, orientation and
landmarks, …]

5.2. Landuses

5.3. Main open spaces and relation between different types of spaces.

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6 | Selected Open Space

6.1. Description

6.2. Hardscape Elements

6.3. Softscape Elements

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7 | Discussion and Conclusion

7.1. Assets and Advantages

(your point of view, how do you see the urban setting, what are the positive aspects –
again from your opinion)

7.2. Issues and disadvantages

7.3. Conclusion

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8 | List of References

Ali Soltani, E. S., 2012. A case study of sustainable urban planning principles in
Curitiba (Brazil) and their applicability in Shiraz (Iran). International Journal of
Development and Sustainability, Volume 1, pp. Pages 120-134.

Daina Millers-Dalsjö, 2009. Waste management & Environment, stockholm: SWECO.

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