Melbourne-based architect graduates Jack Davies, Nicholas Roberts and Henry Stephens won a 2013 design competition for a new Lodge. Photo: Architecture AU.
It’s true that a 98-year-old house on the corner of Adelaide Avenue is no match for the views of Sydney Harbour afforded by Australia’s other official prime ministerial residence, Kirribilli House.
So it’s not too surprising Opposition Leader and Prime Ministerial hopeful Peter Dutton told a Sydney radio station this week that if he were given the choice to call Sydney or Canberra home come May’s election, “I think I’ll take Sydney any day over living in Canberra”.
“We love Sydney, we love the harbour, it’s a great city, and so yes,” he said.
But what if we put him up in a new house on Lake Burley Griffin? Would that be enough to win him over?
When The Lodge was completed in 1927, it was originally only intended as a “temporary residence” for Australian prime ministers until a more permanent one could be built.
It was also meant to be one of three official residences, with the others for the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate, but these never eventuated.
So far, six of Australia’s prime ministers have chosen to live elsewhere either full- or part-time during their tenure, with two choosing Kirribilli.
But in the 1980s, the Federal Government had its eye on two other potential locations – Stirling Ridge and Attunga Point, both in Yarralumla, near West Lake.
Tony Abbott’s government gave The Lodge a $12 million refresh. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A ‘Lake Burley Griffin and Adjacent Lands Heritage Management Plan’, prepared by independent heritage consultants for the National Capital Authority (NCA) in 2009, however, notes that while “this proposal never came to fruition”, the land remains zoned for “National Capital Uses”.
“It continues to be discussed as a potential future location for a range of significant developments,” the report reads.
National Capital Uses zoning laws allow “the use of any land, building or structure for the purpose of a work of special status and national interest”.
However, the report noted there were areas of “National Environmental Significance (NES)” at both sites, for occurrences of the threatened button wrinkle wort grass as well as the “threatened ecological communities” of yellow box and red gum woodland.
This means “any proposed action … will require a referral to the Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts” for approval.
Lodge plans by Jack Davies, Nicholas Roberts and Henry Stephens. Photo: Architecture AU.
The document ends by saying there is “strong community attachment to the site of the former Westlake settlement, along with the clearly articulated community views about the aesthetic significance of this landscape”.
This would “demonstrate the need for stakeholder involvement in future decision-making regarding this site”.
Then, in 2013, the University of Canberra (UC) injected new life into the idea when it held a design competition for a “Lodge by the Lake”, based around the Attunga Point location.
Entries had to include a private home and study, function spaces, a jetty, a swimming pool and areas for garden parties as well as space to present works of art from the National Gallery of Australia.
The first prize of $80,000 went to a Melbourne-based team of graduate architects, for a design incorporating concrete, Australian timber and recycled materials.
“Casual, yet imposing” was how UC’s dean of arts and design Lyndon Anderson described it.
“This design stood out as one that most successfully integrates the built forms with the subtle landscape of Attunga Point,” he said.
“It responsibly owns the landscape, is beautifully sited and celebrates the lake edge location. It also reflects the informal nature of contemporary Australian lifestyles and architecture, while providing attractive larger spaces for public gatherings.”
However, UC pointed out there was no intention to use the designs to build a new Lodge.
In response to questions from Region this week, the NCA confirmed early planning for the nation’s capital did envisage a future prime minister’s residence at Attunga Point.
It’d be a short walk from the lake shore. Photo: Architecture AU.
“This site was reserved for this potentiality,” the spokesperson said.
“Other areas within the National Capital designated for National Capital Use would also be available for consideration should a future government decide to build new prime ministerial accommodation.”
But the spokesperson said there had been no recent movement, and more “detailed studies and planning” would be needed to “determine the relative suitability of different sites”.
The NCA added that any risk to public access of adjoining land would be considered through “detailed planning and public consultation processes”.
Certainly in this economy, a prospective prime minister announcing how he’d like to build a new mansion on Lake Burley Griffin probably wouldn’t go down too well with voters.
Kirribilli House it is then.
