Australian War Memorial, Wellington
Site Visit
The Memorial stands facing its NZ counterpart, the Carillion, in the urban Pukeahu Park. Its open array of red sandstone on a red sandstone and dark basalt base is instantly recognisable as an image of Australia.
Sketches
Continuing the sweep of the adjacent Memorial Terraces, the columns form an open backdrop to the ceremonial plaza facing the Carillion.
Drawings
Artist Impression
The shape of the array and the landscape of the Memorial Park define the ceremonial plaza and form an iconic place of memory and reflection.
Each column repeats the volume of the Carillion at a smaller scale, and each has an inset panel of reflective polished black granite, carved with Māori and Aboriginal imagery and commemorative texts.
Construction
The columns stand on bands of red stone that extend out into the landscape. Interwoven are the bands of New Zealand’s grey stone, symbolising the interwoven destiny of the two nations.
Continuum
Before the columns sit smaller plinths, where wreaths can be laid as the fallen are remembered. The plinths form a focus for large and small ceremonies, today and in the future.
Awards
2016 Shortlisted for International Architecture, AIA National Architecture Awards, Australian Memorial Wellington NZ.
2016 International Chapter Award for Small Project Architecture, International Chapter of the AIA: Australian Memorial Wellington.
2012 First Prize and Commission.
Team
Peter Tonkin, Matilda Watson.
Collaborators
Janet Laurence, Paul Rolfe Architects.
Consultants
Aurecon, DJCoalition, Moorhead & Newdick Landscape Architects.
Photographer
Mike Rolfe.
