Parliament House Layout and Basic Information

Diagram of Australia's Parliament House

Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia.  The building was originally designed by and Italian Architect, Romaldo Gieurgola and opened on 9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.  

The Parliament of Australia has resided in three buildings:

• Victorian Parliament House, Melbourne
• Old Parliament House, Canberra
• New Parliament House, Canberra.

The new Parliament House was later designed by a New-York based Architectural Firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, and involved burying most of the building under Capital Hill, and capping the edifice with an enormous spire topped by a large Australian flag.  The facades, however, included deliberate imitation of some of the patterns of the Old Parliament House, so that there is a slight resemblance despite the massive difference of scale.  It was originally intended to be built in time for Australia's bicentennial celebrations, on Australia Day, Jan 26, 1988.  However the budget and the deadline weren't meant and it was eventually opened on May 9, 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. 

It now 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
• The House of Representatives Chamber is decorated green 
• The Senate Chamber has a red colour scheme
• Between these two chambers is the Members' Hall which has a water feature and is not open to the public
• The Ministerial Wing houses the offices of the Prime Minister and other Ministers

As mentioned above, Australia’s Parliament House parliamentary has executive, ceremonial and public areas, with the building being 300 metres wide, 300 metres long and covers a gross floor area (GFA) of 250,000m².  The massive curved walls separate and define the major component parts, with the House of Representatives wing is on the eastern side and the Senate chamber and offices on the opposite western side. The executive wing is at the southern end of the structure, behind the ceremonial and public spaces of the central zone.

House of Representatives Chamber

Senate Chamber