Virtualism

TASK

CAPITheticAL invites responses to many questions, including:

• Would you build a new capital today or could the Australian Federation be expressed in a different way?
• Would it be a city in the conventional sense or not? If not, what form might it take?
• What ideas would drive its design and development?
• How would 21^st century social, political and environmental factors influence the nature of the city?
• Of what should our national capital consist?

KEY PROPOSITION

Between Federation in 1901 and the selection of the national capital site in 1908, various pressures particular to the concerns and conditions of the time influenced Canberra’s establishment and growth. Today, those ‘pressures’ seem less compelling.This competition, a hypothetical, invites participants to re-imagine the task faced by those whose job it was to decide how the capital would be created. What kinds of pressures and influences would there be if the city were being planned today?

• Are there relevant security concerns that would influence the location and design of a national capital today?
• Can the design and location of a city influence clarity, compassion and productivity in the thinking of Governments and political representatives?
• What influence would climate change have?
• Can the design of a city influence the life and work of its residents?