John Gorton Building

Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

Wheelchair access: Accessible

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

Located within Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle, the John Gorton Building is a government office building and Commonwealth Heritage List site completed in 1956. Originally designed as the Administrative Building in 1946 (though planned from 1924) by Robertson & Marks, George William Smetham-Jones, and the Department of Works and Housing, the structure exemplifies the Inter-war Stripped Classical style. Its key architectural features include symmetrical facades, vertically articulated bays, restrained classical detailing, expressed portico, and subdued spandrels that emphasize verticality. The building's exterior, foyers, lift lobbies, and central corridors retain a high level of design integrity. Sited strategically along the land axis as part of Walter Burley Griffin's 1916 plan, the Administrative Building occupies a prominent position that balances the later Treasury Building across the Parliamentary Triangle's central lawns, contributing significantly to the planned cultural landscape of the nation's capital.