Parliament House, Canberra

Parliament House
The main entrance at blue hour
General information
Location	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Country	Australia
Coordinates	35°18′29″S 149°07′28″E / 35.30806°S 149.12444°E / -35.30806; 149.12444
Construction started	1981
Completed	1988
Inaugurated	9 May 1988; 36 years ago (1988-05-09) by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia
Cost	$1.1 billion
Height	107 metres (351 feet)
Technical details
Floor area	250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Romaldo Giurgola
Architecture firm	Mitchell Giurgola & Thorp Architects
Structural engineer	Irwinconsult
Main contractor	Concrete Constructions John Holland
Website
www.aph.gov.au

Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the legislative body of Australia's federal level of government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is situated on the southern apex of the Parliamentary Triangle atop Capital Hill, at the meeting point of Commonwealth, Adelaide, Canberra and Kings Avenue enclosed by the State Circle.

Parliament House was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp Architects and built by Concrete Constructions and John Holland joint venture.^[1] It was opened on 9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. It cost more than $1.1 billion (equivalent to about $4.9 billion in 2022) to build.^[2]

Federal Parliament meetings were held in Melbourne until 1927. Between 1927 and 1988, the Parliament of Australia met in the Provisional Parliament House, which is now known as Old Parliament House. The construction of Australia's permanent Parliament House was delayed while its location was debated. Construction of the new building began in 1981. The principal design of the structure is two large curved walls that divides the structure into four quadrants: clockwise these are the formal entrance and event space, the House of Representatives, the executive wing and the Senate. These walls are sunken into the hill so that the building appears to emerge from the land, rather that towering over those beneath it. The ability for people to walk on the grass roofs over their representatives also represents the people being above the government. The entire structure is surmounted by an 81-metre (266 ft) flagpole flying the Australian Flag. The flag is the largest in the country, measuring 6.4 metres (21 feet) by 12.8 metres (42 feet) around the size of a double-decker bus.^[2]

The Parliament House contains 4,700 rooms, and many areas are open to the public. The main foyer contains a marble staircase and leads to the Great Hall, which has a large tapestry on display based on the Arthur Boyd painting Untitled (Shoalhaven Landscape).^[3] The House of Representatives chamber is decorated green, while the Senate chamber has a red colour scheme. Between the two chambers is the Members' Hall, which has a water feature and is not open to the public. The executive wing houses the cabinet room, the Prime Minister's Office and other ministerial offices.