I was chatting with a good friend of mine, who happens to be an amazing urban design/landscape architect in Melbourne, and he recommended a few things to me which were I think will be some great references for this project.... I'll be sure to share this information with the group when we try and meet for another progress meeting tomorrow.
One important factor that I didn't realise was that Walter Burley Griffins vision for Canberra, wasn't fully realised... there were lots of changes made by the government at the time to the original plan.. perhaps if they had stuck to the original plan, the development over time would have been better?
This is fully discussed in the "Canberra following Griffin" by Paul Reid.
"The history of Canberra mirrors the progress of city design in the twentieth century. All the urban design theories from the City Beautiful and Garden City movements, through Modernism and New Urban-ism to Environmental Design can be identified in the Australian capital city. The story of Canberra is not simply the story of the erosion of a brilliant city design; it describes the gradual replacement of one set of ideas with another." (page 1).
"The Mitchell Giurgola Thorp hilltop Parliament House is the only building that recognises the splendor of Griffin's setting. With its outstretched arms, it receives the many axes simply and directly, resolving them into an nonthreatening democratic monument." (page 7)
One important factor that I didn't realise was that Walter Burley Griffins vision for Canberra, wasn't fully realised... there were lots of changes made by the government at the time to the original plan.. perhaps if they had stuck to the original plan, the development over time would have been better?
This is fully discussed in the "Canberra following Griffin" by Paul Reid.
"The history of Canberra mirrors the progress of city design in the twentieth century. All the urban design theories from the City Beautiful and Garden City movements, through Modernism and New Urban-ism to Environmental Design can be identified in the Australian capital city. The story of Canberra is not simply the story of the erosion of a brilliant city design; it describes the gradual replacement of one set of ideas with another." (page 1).
"The Mitchell Giurgola Thorp hilltop Parliament House is the only building that recognises the splendor of Griffin's setting. With its outstretched arms, it receives the many axes simply and directly, resolving them into an nonthreatening democratic monument." (page 7)
"The exact geometric location of these star legs is far more than simple pattern-making on a plan. It is the device which nites the city with the site. Journeys along avenues head straight for the significant hills and may routes approach a centre with a significant hill lined up behind. The overall result is continually to remind the citizen of the integration of the man-made world with its natural setting." (page 64).
The diagram below shows the idea of the government triangle, and the attempt to restore 'Russel' to make it more of a gateway into the city.
Reid, P. (2002). Canberra Following Griffin: Design History of Australia's Capital. Canberra: National Archives of Australia.
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