Section 4: The Winner

and the winner is...

The decision of the three judges - J. M. Coane, James A. Smith and John Kirkpatrick - was announced on 23 May 1912, in O'Malley's office.

First prize, £1750, to Number 29, Walter Burley Griffin, architect and landscape artist of Chicago, Illinois.

Second prize, £750, to Number 18, Eliel Saarinen, of Helsinki, Finland.

Third prize, £500, to Number 4, Professor Alfred Agache, of Paris.

Chairman's List

The Chairman of the judging panel, J. M. Coane, gave an alternative list in a minority report:

1. Number 10, W Scott Griffiths, Robert Coulter and Charles Caswell of Sydney. Purchased for £400.

2. Number 41, Arthur Comey of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

3. Number 81, Nils Gellerstedt of Stockholm.

Griffin's Plan for Australia's Federal Capital

I have planned a city not like any other city in the world. I have planned an ideal city.

Walter Burley Griffin, 1913

Griffin's design was striking in its beauty, for its use of axes linking the landscape and built features, and treatment of the symbolism of a national capital, with four main themes.

The natural features of the place were used to generate three major axes - the land, the municipal and the water axes - and sites for important buildings.

The axes were designed to reflect the functions and order of democratic government, with the Federal aspects highest in a scale of land use.

The plan was geometric, with a central triangle formed by avenues set into the landscape, terminating at the symbolic centre of the nation, Capital Hill.

Suburban centres were joined to each other and to the central area by radiating avenues, which could be extended to allow for future growth.

Griffin's plan followed the City Beautiful planning tradition, with strong axes linking monumental forms in the public spaces. It also incorporated Garden City ideas: separating residential areas from major roads and industrial and commercial areas; and "picturesque" planting.

It was, however, far from perfect. It did not take account of stormwater drainage. Parts of the city would be so steep that access would be difficult. These flaws were noted, and used to oppose the plan's implementation.

top: Walter Burley Griffin, Commonwealth of Australia Federal Capital Competition. City and Environs
middle: Walter Burley Griffin, Section B-A. Southerly side of Water Axis, Government Group The capitol dominates the city skyline in Marion Mahony Griffin's beautiful drawing.
below: Walter Burley Griffin, Commonwealth of Australia Federal Capital Competition, View from Summit of Mount Ainslie.
This perspective of the future capital from Mount Ainslie demonstrates Griffin's land axis.

A Creative Partnership - Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin

Walter Burley Griffin, born at Maywood near Chicago in 1876, graduated in 1899 from the school of architecture at the University of Illinois. He joined Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park Studio in 1901 and worked there till 1906.

Marion Mahony, born in 1871, was the second woman to graduate in architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She worked with Frank Lloyd Wright for nine years, until 1909.

Walter's strength was in designing houses and communities. He described himself as a land planner as well as an architect. Marion's talent was expressed in exquisite drawings and designing furniture and decorative features. Her drawings are believed to have contributed greatly to the success of Walter's entry.

This patnership, begun in the workplace and sustained throughout a marriage and two creative careers, lasted until Walter's death in Lucknow, India, in 1937. Both the Griffins were interested in philosophical and mystical movements. There is considerable debate about the influence of these movements on the Griffin plan for Canberra.

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