Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620:body:0:p59
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 161576–164499

of the building's original/early character and layout is very limited and includes: the north-south axis that connects the four blocks; the two staircases within B Block; strong rooms in B Block; and a section of timber ceiling panelling in B Block, and potentially other sections of ceiling panels that have been concealed above dropped ceilings within A, B and C Blocks (all levels).
The buildings that make up the Parliament House Secretariat group are symmetrically positioned within a large-scale landscape (the Parliamentary Triangle, south of King Edward Terrace) that was conceived in the 1920s as the centrepiece of the Federal Capital.  The landscape of the Parliamentary Triangle, although much altered, is of aesthetic significance (CHL criterion E).  The formality of the planned landscape provides an appropriately distinguished setting for the Provisional Parliament House.  It also contributed to the establishment of Canberra's 'Garden City' identity.
The Parliament House Secretariat group is located at the southern end of the Land Axis (Parliament House Vista), a key symbolic and planning component of Walter Burley Griffin's concept for the National Capital.  The three buildings were designed by the office of J S Murdoch, Chief Architect of the Commonwealth Department of Works and Railways, and were sited to reinforce the formal qualities of the Land Axis.  The landscape treatment was designed and planted by Thomas Weston, with input from Murdoch.  Collectively, the planning and presentation of the Parliament House Secretariat group as a key component of Land Axis is a work of creative (technical) significance to Australia (CHL Criterion F).
West Block is significant for its associations with Walter Burley Griffin, J S Murdoch and Charles Weston, each of whom made significant contributions to the planning, design and setting for the building (CHL Criterion H).
Implications arising from this assessment are that key aspects of the place should be conserved to retain this significance.  The key features requiring conservation include:
      * The external presentation of West Block, as a free-standing structure with a general consistency of character and details demonstrative of the Federal Capital style
      * Original/early (pre-1950) internal features and fabric specifically: the north-south axis that connects the four blocks on each level; the two staircases in B Block; timber ceiling panels where extant in A, B and C Blocks, including a section that is known to survive on the ground floor of B Block; and timber structural framing on levels 1 and 2 (see Chapter 2)
      * Structural landscape elements, including the integral car park between Commonwealth Avenue and West Block, the service road between West Block and the car park and the tree-lined vista extending north on axis with the north elevation of A Block
      * Trees and landscape characteristics dating to