A Giant Oculus and Floating Glass Sculptures: What’s New at the Australian War Memorial

Photo: Ashley St George

The iconic Canberra building is undergoing a dramatic, $550 million redevelopment. In partnership with the Australian War Memorial, here’s what’s new – and coming soon.

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra is already one of the most recognisable buildings in the country, with its Byzantine-style green copper dome and solemn sandstone archways. But over the past few years it’s been undergoing a $550 million transformation –unprecedented in its 84-year history – and parts of the award-winning new development are beginning to open to the public.

Foremost among them is the grand new main entrance and its centrepiece, the Oculus: an “eye” made of colossal glass petals, each weighing 350 kilograms, which lets daylight stream into the underground foyer. From here, visitors can access some the memorial’s new and existing displays, the Commemorative Area and, once construction is complete, walk through to an additional 4000 square metres of new galleries and exhibitions.

Here’s a look at what’s new – and coming soon.

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The new main entrance and the Oculus

The memorial’s new entrance lies beneath the heritage forecourt, with views over Lake Burley Griffin toward Parliament House from the redesigned Parade Ground. The Oculus, its stunning central skylight, is a mathematical inversion of the dome of the Hall of Memory – the heart of the building, which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. The nine-metre-wide window both illuminates the main entrance foyer and orients visitors by providing views up to the iconic dome and the main building.

Cast into the floor beneath the Oculus are the qualities – like comradeship, loyalty and devotion – inscribed in the stained-glass windows in the Hall of Memory. The new entrance leads to a revamped gift shop, a theatre, a function room and the galleries. Meanwhile, in the foyer, a new display tells the story of Captain Reg Saunders, one of the first Indigenous people to be commissioned as an Australian Army officer. And interactive display Places of Pride – put together with the help of communities around the country – celebrates the diversity of commemoration in Australia with a look at our many local war memorials.

Quiet Skies by Annette Blair

Canberra Glassworks resident and internationally renowned artist Annette Blair has created an intricate new work to hang over the memorial’s new spiral staircases. The artwork – Quiet Skies. As the sun rises. As the sun sets – comprises two sculptures, each made of an astonishing 900 glass leaves in colours representing sunrise and sunset. As visitors pass beneath the leaves, they’ll see them change form, suspended in mid-air as if gently falling. A specialist in glass blowing and cold working, Blair is known for her delicate still life sculptures exploring memory and personal narrative. Quiet Skies is an ode to the personal and collective sacrifices the memorial commemorates.

The Charles Bean Research Centre

Charles Bean was one of Australia’s first official war correspondents, reporting on the First World War. Deeply affected by the hardship and sacrifice he witnessed on the Western Front in 1916, Bean was determined that the stories of these Australian soldiers would never be forgotten. He spent 23 years writing an official history of the war, and was a founder and driving force behind the Australian War Memorial, which he envisioned as a place of reflection “on some hilltop – still, beautiful, gleaming white and silent”.

Named in his honour, the new Charles Bean Research Centre helps visitors access the memorial’s extensive archival collections – including photography, film and sound recordings – and get started researching service records or even their own family history. While a number of records have been digitised, most records are originals – best viewed by request at the research centre, which opens soon.

Anzac Hall and Anzac Atrium

Opening in 2026, the redevelopment will include several major new galleries dedicated to contemporary conflicts, meaning the memorial’s exhibitions will soon extend from Gallipoli to Afghanistan and beyond. Anzac Hall – whose roof, designed by Cox Architects, is inspired by the Australian Army’s “rising sun” badge – will house exhibitions on Iraq, Afghanistan and various peacekeeping operations on its lower level. On the upper level, “G for George” – a Lancaster bomber that completed 89 missions over Germany and occupied Europe between 1942 and 1944 – will return as the highlight of a new gallery devoted to Australians in RAF Bomber Command.

The new hall will connect to the main building via Anzac Atrium, a light-filled space under a glass roof showcasing previously unseen artefacts. These range from a German V-2 (or Vergeltungswaffe Zwei, “Vengeance Weapon Two”) rocket and Meillerwagen trailer for super-long-range artillery, used by the Nazis in the Second World War, to a CH-47D Chinook tandem-rotor helicopter that supported the Australian Army during operations in Afghanistan.

The full redevelopment is due for completion in 2028.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with the Australian War Memorial.

Produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Australian War Memorial

Produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Australian War Memorial
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