1A Constitution Avenue

Bridging civic precincts at City Hill

1A Constitution Place

1A Constitution Avenue adds a new commercial building to a symbolically charged site within the Griffins’ Garden City masterplan for Canberra.

Located at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Vernon Circle, the project promises to extend the civic vitality of the adjacent Constitution Place.

Designed for Capital Property Group, the building honours the Griffins’ vision of City Hill as an administrative precinct by adhering to the same civicness expressed by its architectural neighbours. It adopts an elegant boomerang form that addresses both Vernon Circle and Constitution Avenue with purpose, completing the streetwall established by Constitution Place. Three buildings are united as one precinct.

Philip Vivian

Managing Director, Bates Smart

Sustainable design and reducing embodied carbon are key conceptual drivers. 1A Constitution Avenue is a hybrid structure with an activated timber verandah. The timber verandah is the focal point, constructed using cross-laminated timber floor panels and Glulam beams. It wraps the building’s frontage and filters natural light through to the workplace within.

This sweeping timber sleeve forms the basis of the façade, combining with an expressed mullion that doubles as a shading fin. Fins are finished in a charred black colour to contrast the warm interior of the workplace.

1A Constitution Avenue is designed to be fully electric and powered largely by solar, in line with the ACT Government’s climate change strategy. The concrete construction is optimised with a flat slab to minimise material use and embodied carbon.