The University of Canberra and the Gallery of Australian Design will conduct a national Design Ideas Competition for a new Prime Minister’s lodge in Canberra. The Design Ideas Competition explores projects that may or may not be built. This competition aims to generate a range of solutions and stimulate discourse about who we are and our expectations for the future.

There is prize money on offer as well as publication of the winning designs. The competition will be launched on Australia Day 2013 and closes in May, which is the anniversary of the arrival of the first Prime Minister to move into The Lodge. The competition will demonstrate the creativity and depth of talent of Australia’s designers and showcase Canberra as a symbol of our identity as a democratic nation.

The 1912 competition for the design of Australia’s Federal Capital City sought the special consideration of designers in the allocation of a site for the residence of the Prime Minister.  This latest competition is set to demonstrate the creativity and depth of talent of Australia’s designers and showcases Canberra as a symbol of our identity as a democratic nation. 

The official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia - The Lodge at 5 Adelaide Avenue, Deakin, ACT - has been the Canberra home of 16 of Australia’s 27 Prime Ministers and their families.  The building and grounds have important cultural and heritage significance.

Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce moved in to the Lodge with his wife Ethel on 4 May 1927, five days before the first sitting of the Federal Parliament at Canberra.  The Lodge has been altered and extended from time to time to accommodate Prime Ministers and their families and to address functional and security needs.  A new Lodge is needed to match the opportunities of the future.  

The Gallery of Australian Design was established by the University of Canberra in partnership with the Australian Institute of Architects, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and the National Museum of Australia.  The Gallery showcases Australian achievements in all fields of design and will mount an exhibition of the submissions in this competition.

For more information visit www.canberra.edu.au/100/activities/exhibitions/lodge