Out for a walk this morning I happened upon an old building in the centre of Canberra that looks like it is straight out of a Batman movie.

A plaque on the wall identified it as “Department of climate change, energy, the environment and water” (as if these were 4 seperate things). In a stroke of irony, a paper notice taped to a side entrance stated that the building had recently been vacated due to flooding.

Is it completely abandoned? Is one wing shut down for a few days? Im not sure.

It was a Sunday, but there was no sign of life inside, and the cool 1950s style foyer looked as if the cast of ‘Mad Men‘ had just got up and left moments ago…in 1957.

The building (officially called the John Gorton Building) was built in 1956 and is considered to be a fine example of the ‘inter-war Stripped Classical’ style of architecture. Another example is the CSIRO division of Forestry, the last abandoned building I wrote about.

Key features of this style displayed by the building include: the symmetrical facades; the division of the elevations into vertical bays; the occasional use of correct Classical details; the use of a basic Classical column form; the expressed portico; the simple surface treatments; and subdued spandrels between the storeys which emphasise verticality. Design elements which retain a high level of integrity include the exterior, foyers, lift lobbies and central corridors. –Australian Heritage Database.

Around the building six large rectangular skylights poke out of the ground. Remnants of the Cold War era, when the department of Foreign Affairs occupied the building. Like all government buildings interested in foreign affairs, it contains a secret bunker.

‘The bunker’ as it was colloquially known, cost $3 million 1976 dollars, had 45cm thick reinforced walls, a single secure access point, radio shielding and its own power generators.

Between 1978 and 1996 it was in operation 24/7 as a secret squirrel communication centre.

Squinting down through the skylights I can just about see it seems to be de-commissioned into some sort of office kitchen/cafe area now.
Exactly what the secret squirrels would want us to think.

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References:

• Is there really a Cold War bunker under this Canberra public service building?
• Australian Heritage Database.