Would the Griffins approve of Canberra's proposed waterfront stadium?

Would Walter Burley Griffin approve of Canberra's proposed waterfront stadium? A waterfront stadium was part of the original plan for Canberra, but a historian says a new proposed venue could "knock out parts" of the architects' legacy. A stadium in Canberra's CBD has long been a topic of discussion in the nation's capital. The notion was catapulted back into the limelight this week, when the Canberra Airport unveiled a proposal to build a stadium in the city centre near Commonwealth Park. The airport's CEO and a consortium of business owners are proposing to purchase land owned by the Catholic Church along Commonwealth Avenue to clear the way for a 25,000-35,000 seat venue to host sporting and musical events. The airport said it was "willing to contribute to the proposal's development" but was not seeking ownership and would have no ongoing financial interest in operating the stadium. After meeting with the airport's chief executive yesterday, ACT Planning Minister Chris Steel said the render for the stadium looked "incredible", but further study was needed to examine its potential impact on transport and parking. Griffins' stadium vision 'quite different' The idea of a stadium in the capital's CBD was floated more than 100 years ago when the design for Canberra was entered into a competition, which received more than 130 entries. American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won the competition in 1911. In the award-winning blueprint, the Griffins imagined a cultural hub by the lake, dotted with baths, a gymnasium, zoological gardens and a stadium. In the 1912 departmental board design, a stadium could be seen in what is now Kings Park. In later designs, the stadium still featured, but had been moved to Rond Terrace at the end of Anzac Parade. "The stadium for general assembly faces the waterway, and is recessed into the slope of the bank, where it does not interrupt the continuous vista along the land axis," the Griffins' plan stated. Tony Maple, of the Canberra and Region Heritage Researchers network, said the stadium Walter Burley Griffin had in mind was "quite different to what is being proposed now". "It was going to be a place for general assembly of people, and it was going to be a flat structure, really like the Rond Terrace that's there now," he said. He said the stadium the Griffins imagined was not a multi-storey structure that could be as high as 30 or 40 metres tall. "I think that site would encroach significantly on the Canberra plan, the legacy of the Griffins, and it would likely take over a significant part of Commonwealth Park,"he said. Mr Maple said the proposed stadium was a "dominating thing" that had the potential to "whittle away" the city's parks and gardens. He stressed that it could take over a large space of the intended environment surrounding Lake Burley Griffin. "I'm concerned about the potential to knock out parts of the Griffin legacy," he said. The National Capital Authority, which has planning control over the area close to the lake, has said it would work alongside all parties "as the concept evolves and following the processes and requirements of the National Capital Plan".