An Unfinished Masterpiece

This pictorial essay from architect Peter Elliott and journalist Gideon Haigh tracks the ideas and design influences behind the building of Parliament House, Melbourne. Parliament House is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most significant public buildings. Planning for the building began in the early 1850’s and today remains a grand but unfinished masterpiece, some 170 years later.

Peter Kerr is the architect whose inspired design has come to represent the aspirations and visions of our founding democracy. Kerr toiled on and off over a forty year period with a gentle tenacity, surviving numerous setbacks and political crises. Kerr is an inspiration to every architect. He could draw beautifully, producing hundreds of exquisite drawings in very quick time. He was clearly a man of many talents, who brought a sophisticated design sensibility, innovative thinking and capacity for meticulous detailing to every aspect of the building.

His great achievement though is the manner of the architecture, conceived at the very foundation of the city. This monumental structure, intended to evoke the splendour of Imperial Rome, embodies the highest ideals of nineteenth century civic architecture. The architectural historian George Tibbitts observed, the great spaces in this building are more than a delight to the eye. They afford a deep satisfaction to the intellect and spirit.