The Heritage Council made the decision to register the Cinema Center to the Heritage Register.

You can view the Notifiable Instrument for the decision to register.

Cinema Center has made an important contribution to cultural life in the ACT during the mid to late 20th century. The cinema venue, Center Cinema, in the basement of the building (Center Cinema) operated as an independent cinema for 38 years, providing high quality and culturally diverse entertainment for the burgeoning Canberra population. The place has a strong association with the development of cinema entertainment and attendance as a cultural activity in the ACT, being influential in the establishment of an independent cinema industry in the ACT thanks largely to the special association of the place with Dr Darrell Killen whose partnership with Dr Enrico Taglietti AO led to several other commissions to expand the ACT’s cultural life. There is a further special association between the place and Enrico Taglietti, as it remains as one of his culturally influential private, commercial commissions. [Criteria (a), (h)].

Cinema Center is an early, possibly the first, example of the use of Vierendeel trusses to achieve a large free span basement in Australia. Architect Enrico Taglietti and structural engineer Keith Sellick, developed an innovative design solution where a cinema space could be located underground to free the upper floors for the remaining programme and maximise commercial viability of the complex. The design solution demonstrates creative and technical achievement in its use of three concrete and steel Vierendeel trusses, with a depth of over 4m, to achieve a free span basement space required for the cinema and a functional ground floor layout.

To understand what is being proposed, you had the opportunity to check out the map and site images outlined in the background information found in the document library. You had your say by:

• taking the survey (see example survey under document library) or
• alternatively, using the survey template (in the document library) and emailing it to the Council at heritage@act.gov.au

Comments made through this website are formal statutory consultation comments and are given to the Council. The statutory consultation notice can be found on the ACT Government’s Find a Public Notice site.

Your views submitted through the survey helped the ACT Heritage Council decide on the registration of the Cinema Center.