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Unit 2
Walter Burley Griffin and the Competition for the Capital
An Ideal City Critical Analysis
Activity
Setting the scene
The location of Australia's National Capital had been decided. An international competition was held to find a design that would incorporate an ornamental lake, Parliament House, public buildings plus parks and gardens. An architect from Chicago, Walter Burley Griffin (and his wife and partner, Marion Mahony Griffin), won the competition with designs that incorporated the natural environment and were seen to represent democracy and modern ideals for a national capital.
The National Capital Authority, the National Archives and the National Library of Australia have collaborated to produce a website based on the 1911-1912 competition for the design of the National Capital.
What to do
- Familiarise yourself with the above website.
- Submit a 1,000 word report that critically analyses this website.
Key points within your report should answer the following:
- Is the structure of the website easy to follow?
- Is the information easy to understand?
- Are the graphics suitable?
- Do you have a better understanding of the overall topic as a result of visiting this website?
- What age group do you think would benefit most from visiting this website?
- Choose a page that you find particularly interesting and state why you chose it.
- List five secondary sources recommended by the website and give a brief description of each.
- What would you improve as part of an upgrade to the website?
- List five fascinating facts that you discovered when analysing this website.
Be creative
Present your five fascinating facts to the classroom in an informative and entertaining way. This may take the form of an interactive presentation using computer based resources, a poem or role-play including other members of the class.
