Plans to demolish award-winning Anzac Hall, as unveiled today by the Australian War Memorial, have been described as \u2018deeply distressing\u2019 by the Australian Institute of Architects.<\/p>\n
While fully supporting moves to honour and better tell the stories of Australia\u2019s servicemen and women, National President Clare Cousins said the Institute was shocked at the lack of consultation with the community, the Institute and the architectural moral right holders of the existing structure.<\/p>\n
Opened in 2001 at a reported cost of $11.3 million, Anzac Hall has been lauded for its sensitivity to the heritage and cultural context of this national memorial while also providing functional design.<\/p>\n
Architects Denton Corker Marshall won the Institute\u2019s prestigious national Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture for the building in 2005.<\/p>\n
\u2018As architects we are passionate about preserving Australia\u2019s heritage and honouring our national history, nowhere more so than the extraordinary service and sacrifice of the servicemen and women,\u2019 Ms Cousins said.<\/p>\n
\u2018That\u2019s why Anzac Hall was designed with such care and sensitivity to the highest standards of design excellence, an effort recognised when it was selected above any other piece of public architecture to receive the Sir Zelman Cowen Award.<\/p>\n
\u2018Bringing in the bulldozers to destroy such an investment \u2013 of effort, of culture and at the end of the day taxpayer dollars \u2013 is a colossal waste and mark of disrespect.
\n\u2018It is incomprehensible that in planning what would otherwise be such a welcome extension at the War Memorial, so little regard has been shown for the cultural significance of Anzac Hall, which is a national landmark and much-loved exhibition space.<\/p>\n
\u2018There has to be another way forward and the Institute is willing to work with the Federal Government and the Australian War Memorial\u2019s management to find an acceptable alternative.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018The apparent secrecy surrounding the plans, which were reportedly being explored since 2015, together with the complete lack of consultation is hugely disturbing.
\n\u2018The Australian War Memorial is one of our nation\u2019s most significant monuments and a site of immense pride and emotion.<\/p>\n
\u2018All Australians deserve a say in its future – not a small group of elites.\u2019<\/p>\n
The announcement comes on the day Australia\u2019s leading architects gather in Melbourne for the annual National Architecture Awards presentation, the same ceremony at which Anzac Hall was recognised 13 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u2018At only 17 years of age, Anzac Hall is considered young in building terms, where average lifecycles are 50 to 100 years,\u2019 Ms Cousins said.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Institute is resolved to fight these plans. We must put an end to the pattern emerging which treats major public works as somehow disposable.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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