Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01868:reg:4:p10
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01868
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 10/63)
Character Range: 370598–374404

primary example of the Inter-War Stripped Classical style of architecture, dominant in Canberra's government architecture of the 1920s–40s. In particular, it is exemplar of the Canberra interpretation of the style, a major stylistic expression of Federal Capital Architecture that included the influence of Garden City ideals with the courtyards with loggias and pergolas, verandahs, internal courtyards and adjacent gardens.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The characteristics of the style and their expression in Old Parliament House's exterior and interior, is due to the design work of the Commonwealth's first government architect, John Smith Murdoch. Murdoch's design is modest, embracing classical symmetry and forms, having balanced masses with projected bays with arched bronze framed windows and subdued spandrels between storeys emphasizing the verticality. Old Parliament House (the then Provisional Parliament House) was central to this expression, one of classical orderliness.
Old Parliament House and curtilage is also the central feature of a precinct with an integrity of related architectural features that include the two Secretariat buildings (East and West Blocks), the Old Parliament House Gardens, Constitutional and Magna Carta Places and the National Rose Gardens, representing a period of increased national government power and public interest in Canberra.
The essential character and symmetry of Old Parliament House have remained intact despite several substantial additions. The design of the building and its layout, spaces, rooms demonstrate the customs and functions of the Commonwealth Parliament.
The building's Chambers reflect the roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The seating arrangements particularly indicate the formal and adversarial nature of debate in the House of Representatives Chamber compared with the more fraternal seating of Senators in the Senate Chamber. The Public and Press galleries illustrate the nature of public and press access to formal Parliamentary processes, the spaces allocated to the recording and administration of Parliamentary sittings, and the presence of Executive Government staff indicate the major involvement of the Executive in the formal processes of Parliament in Australia.
The House of Representatives Wing comprises two blocks constructed in three phases, 1943, 1949 and 1965, and the Senate Wing, also two blocks constructed in three phases, 1943, 1949 and 1972, retain much of their internal layout and some fittings. They are an unusual physical record of the difficult working conditions of parliamentarians, staff and press representatives over the period 1943–88.
Early surviving interiors of the building include King's Hall, the Library, Senate Chamber, House of Representatives Chamber, Dining Rooms, Senate Opposition Party Room, Ministerial Party Room, Clerk of the Senate's Office, Members' Bar, Government Party Room and Leader of the Government in the Senate's Office.

OFFICIAL VALUES
Criteria                             Values
                                     King's Hall and the Chambers are important for reflecting the austerity of the times and the style. The rooms