Civic Square, designed by Roy Simpson of Yuncken Freeman in 1959, was a confident assertion of utopian Modernist architectural style.

Join Senior Curator Virginia Rigney for an illustrated conversation with Architect and Heritage Consultant David Hobbes in the theatrette as they interrogate the utopian ideals behind the design and the public art of the Square. The conversation will consider recent acquisitions to CMAG’s Collection including images of Civic Square and the sculpture of Head of Ethos by Tom Bass, and how images of the completed buildings were used throughout the 1960s to promote the city.

Presented as part of the annual DESIGN Canberra festival (4-24 November 2019)

Image:
Aerial view Civic Square Canberra shortly after completion
Yuncken Freeman Architects  c.1961
Canberra Press Photography Collection Acquired 2018