National Gallery of Australia
Capital Works Program
Heritage Advice
Heritage Impact Assessment
Guida Moseley Brown Architects, on behalf of the National Gallery of Australia
Parkes, ACT
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) is the country’s national cultural institution for the visual arts and a place of high heritage significance.
The NGA demonstrates a range of values linked with its history, ongoing use, design and architectural qualities, creative achievement, social values and associations with significant people. The place is valued by Australians as the home of the national art collection, and as a finely executed building with detailed finishes and craftsmanship.
GML was engaged by GMB Architects on behalf of the NGA to provide heritage advice and prepare a Heritage Impact Assessment for a proposed capital works program, which involved improvements to the building’s safety, security, electrical and mechanical systems. Issues with the existing mechanical equipment were identified during the 2020 bushfire smoke events in Canberra, and repairs were required after the January 2020 hailstorm.
GML provided heritage advice to ensure the project team were aware of the Commonwealth legislative requirements of the site, the heritage values, and other constraints and opportunities related to the works. A Heritage Impact Assessment was prepared to assist the Gallery in meeting its obligations under the EPBC Act, and to ensure that potential impacts to the National and Commonwealth Heritage values were avoided or mitigated through sensitive design and implementation.
GML’s heritage advice guided the design team throughout the design process ensuring that change was managed sensitively and without diminishing the heritage values or the design ideals of the original designers and architects.
