The Edmund Barton Building (known originally as the Trade Group Offices) is a large Canberra office building positioned prominently on the

Parliamentary Triangle The National Triangle, which is referred to as the Parliamentary Triangle, is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The National Triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitutio ...

in the suburb of

Barton, Australian Capital Territory Barton ( postcode: 2600) is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. At the , Barton had a population of 1,946 people. Barton is adjacent to Capital Hill. It contains the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Attor ...

. It was designed by the Australian architect

Harry Seidler Harry Seidler (25 June 19239 March 2006) was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the B ...

. It is named after Sir Edmund Barton, first Prime Minister of Australia and one of the founding judges of the High Court of Australia.

Design, construction and ownership

The Edmund Barton Building was designed and built for the

Commonwealth government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

over the period 1970 to 1974. The building is of a

precast Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast bea ...

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

construction. Its elements are radically simple: the entire structure was created using repeating patterns of just three different components: 26-metre-long facade beams, 16-metre-long floor beams or 'planks', and 1.5-metre column elements. It contains a total of 50 000 square metres of office space in seven wings, enclosing two courtyards.Harry Seidler & Associates
Trade Group Offices
retrieved January 2009. The building has undergone various subsequent modifications, notably including the retrofitting of

cladding Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following: *Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell *Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings ...

beneath the exposed first floor floor planks which, while improving thermal performance, has been criticised for obscuring the original design of the building. In 1999, as part of a privatisation of Commonwealth assets, the building was sold to the Industry Superannuation Property Trust Pty Ltd, which almost immediately on-sold the site to Advance Property Fund (a subsidiary of Stockland, one of Australia's largest property groups) for A$70 million. In December 2008 was sold to Real IS AG for A$186 million. The building was the subject of a major refurbishment in 2007–2009 estimated to cost $115 million, including increased security measures around the building perimeter (owing to the client needs of the new tenant, the Australian Federal Police), and reinvigoration of the courtyard areas. Planning for the refurbishment was undertaken by HBO+EMTB. The refurbishment caused some concern about the preservation of heritage values of the building, and about loss of public access to central open spaces and art works.Canberra House,
Modifications proposed to Harry Seidler’s Edmund Barton building
', 21 September 2008, retrieved January 2009.

Occupants

The building was originally designed as office space for Australian federal trade agencies. In the 1980s and 1990s the building was occupied by the

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry may refer to: * Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia) ** Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Queensland) The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is a de ...

(previously known as the

Department of Primary Industries and Energy The Department of Primary Industries and Energy was an Australian government department that existed between July 1987 and October 1998. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be ...

and prior to that the Department of Primary Industry) and small groups from other departments including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A range of other agencies have occupied parts of the building, including the

Australian Public Service Commission The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is a statutory agency of the Australian Government, within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, that acts to ensure the organisational and workforce capability to meet future needs a ...

(from before 2000 to 2007) and the

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts was an Australian Government department that existed between December 2007 and September 2010. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocatio ...

(2004–2007). The Australian Federal Police undertook to occupy the building from mid-2009, following a major refurbishment.

Heritage value and art

The Edmund Barton Building is regarded as one of Harry Seidler's most important Australian buildings. The building was placed on the

Commonwealth National Heritage List The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealth ...

in June 2005, as 'an outstanding example of the Late Twentieth-Century International Style of architecture in Australia and is the largest such example in the National Capital'. The building has also achieved recognition through the 25 Year Award for its architectural merit, from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), ACT Chapter, as well as being on the RAIA's Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture (as the Trade Offices).RAIA, Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture
Sites in the Australian Capital Territory
retrieved January 2009. The Edmund Barton Building site is the location of several significant pieces of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. These include:

two important works of public art by
Norman Carlberg Norman K. Carlberg (November 6, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was an American sculptor, photographer, and printmaker. He is noted as an exemplar of the modular constructivist style. Early life and education Carlberg was born in Roseau, Minnes ...
, the internationally acclaimed American sculptor who worked in the modular constructivist style and studied under
Josef Albers Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College ...
at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in the late 1950s. ''Black Widow'' is the free standing black painted steel form standing 4.8m high in the west courtyard. ''Concrete Form'' is the 7.3m high precast concrete sculpture in the east courtyard. These two important works were installed in 1975.

In addition to these works, a memorial sculpture of Sir Edmund Barton stands at the south-west corner of the building, facing Kings Avenue.

Gallery

Edmund Barton Building underside detail.JPG, Detail of underside of first floor, showing retrofitted cladding obscuring the original concrete floor planks Edmund Barton Building showing refurbishment in progress.JPG, Edmund Barton Building refurbishment underway, 2008–09 Statue of Edmund Barton.JPG, Statue of Edmund Barton, standing at the south-western corner of the Edmund Barton Building

References

External links