Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00148:front:0:p10
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00148
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 25509–28361

not items whose conservation is directly covered by this conservation management plan, though their contribution to the significance of the place is highlighted later in the plan.

Other newer art works include the Alice Kettle embroideries in the Main Reading Room and the Myer tapestry, installed on level 1 in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Condition
This section provides information about the condition of the place, prior to consideration of its heritage significance in the following chapters.  It provides a general impression about condition.  Section 5.6 provides an analysis of condition and integrity related to the actual significance of the place.

The Library is in generally fair to good condition and the exterior is largely intact.  However, there are a number of maintenance issues as noted elsewhere in this report.

The podium has been extended and modified although these changes are sympathetic and were envisaged in the original design, and was re-paved and handrails modified to meet the Building Code in 2007-09.  There have been substantial internal alterations to the building.  The changes include construction of a restaurant (refurbished in 2016) and bookshop (redesigned in 2011) in the entry foyer, the Treasures and Exhibition galleries (2011), the executive suite, refurbishment and relocation of reading rooms, and redistribution of stack and office accommodation.

2.3 Associated Places

The Library has associations with the following places:

     * the forecourt of the Library and lawns to the northeast and northwest – while these areas are outside the boundary of Library management and control, they are important as the setting for the building.  In particular, the fountains and poplars of the forecourt are essential framing elements for the entry to the Library, and the open lawns provide a setting where the building can be prominent;

     * the Moore sculpture to the northeast of the forecourt, commissioned as part of the original artwork for the Library;

     * the High Court of Australia and National Gallery of Australia – the Library and these other institutions were all part of a design composition centred around the Land Axis.  While not strictly symmetrical, there is none the less a sense of balance, and the Library and Gallery share a cross-axis;

     * the Parliamentary Zone – the zone is the heart of the national capital and the location for major Commonwealth Government buildings and institutions.  The Library was located and designed as part of this physical and symbolic landscape;

     * Lake Burley Griffin – the Library was located and designed in response to the lake as a major element in the central national area of Canberra.  The Library was intended to be viewed as a major building set in parkland on the shore of the lake;  and

     * the Parliament