Thematic Heritage Study
—ACT Modernist Houses

Many of these creatives are considered pioneers of the modern movement in Australia, including Robin Boyd, Roy Grounds, Kenneth Oliphant, Sydney Ancher, Theo Bischoff, Dirk Bolt, Michael Dysart, John Andrews and Harry Seidler. The list includes migrants to Australia that made a name for themselves in Canberra including Romaldo Giurgola, Enrico Taglietti, Malcolm Moir, Heather Sutherland and Alex Jelinek.

As a twentieth-century planned city, Australia’s capital, Canberra, embodies modernism and democratic ideals in its buildings and historic urban landscape, unlike any other city. Yet Canberra’s significant mid-century modern architecture is under threat, with many buildings already lost.

The National Trust of Australia (ACT) proposed a thematic study of modernist housing to ACT Heritage as part of a Special Grant Work Plan in 2021.

GML was engaged to undertake the thematic study which included identifying historical themes that help reveal the patterns and forces that shaped the development of Canberra’s housing in the growing national capital, and also define the house types, architectural styles and indicators to be used in the identification and assessment of significant modernist architecture in Canberra.

The thematic study provides a framework to assist the Trust, the ACT Government and the community to appreciate Canberra’s modernist houses, and support future heritage assessments and nominations of significant places to the ACT Heritage Register.

This is a significant step in raising awareness and understanding of the contribution of mid-century modernism to Australian design history, and we hope will provide much needed momentum for other jurisdictions to do similar studies.

The thematic study is now available and can be read here. The project has been made possible by funding from the ACT Government.