Location \ St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia

Client \ Shrine of Remembrance Trustees

Consultants \ Ashton Raggatt McDougall

The intention of the Garden Courtyard at The Shrine of Remembrance was to form a relaxed place of contemplation and rest away from the central activities of the Visitor Centre.The Courtyard is within the bounds of the World War One Memorial and much of its design responds to the memory of the Great War. It has been designed around the transplanted Olive Tree, and all forms, colours and textures pay deference to the tree as the focal point of the design composition. There are many linked ideas in the garden design, starting with the Legacy Olive Tree as the symbol of peace. The pavement design represents the movement from the shadow of the Great War in to light; the thin green line of Balmoral Green granite on the pavement separating dark from light, traces the line of shadow cast from the courtyard wall at 11:00am on the 11^th day of November each year, Armistice Day.

As visitors move through the space, they pass form darkness into light, stepping from the shadows of the Shrine undercroft into the light and sunny space of the Courtyard. Relative darkness is again encountered under the Olive Tree, against the overhanging walls, the sheer wall of masonry in close proximity being reminiscent of wartime difficulty.

The wharf deck is intended to suggest the idea of journey and transition from the inner city ports of the Australian coastline and the hastily constructed jetties and structures of the beach landings. Similarly the small sandstone court suggests the colours and stones of ANZAC Cove, the ultimate point of arrival for the brave spirits for whom the Shrine itself was constructed.

The series of enclosures established through the use of the hedges of Laurel and Oak are intended to create levels of intimacy for visitors’ contemplation. The spaces offer varying degrees of surveillance exposure, offering ‘cover’ if required, while in some areas there is no escaping from view. This is deliberate and a key feature of the design.