Putting together the Australian War Memorial's Oculus has been a mammoth, multi-year project.
Scott Carver's design for the Oculus (Latin for "eye") was approved in 2019 and is finally being installed at the museum's new southern entrance.
Nine metres in diameter, the Oculus contains a steel frame, manufactured in Melbourne. Now being inserted into this frame are etched glass "petals" around a central circle, all made in specialist facilities in Spain and shipped to Australia.
Each petal weighs 350 kilograms and the total weight of the Oculus is 12 tonnes.
Cast into the floor beneath the Oculus are the 15 values from the stained glass windows in the memorial's Hall of Memory.
Visitors will see the Hall of Memory dome through the Oculus, the shape of which is an inversion of that dome.
The director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson, said, "The Oculus is a striking feature of the new southern entrance.
"It is high in ambition, and has been wonderfully executed. To my knowledge, there's nothing quite like it in any other cultural institution in Australia.
"But most importantly, the Oculus and southern entrance will encourage visitors to think deeply about the nature of service and sacrifice embodied in the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, on the Roll of Honour, and through the stories told in our galleries."
The Oculus is part of the southern entrance and parade ground package that cost $85 million.
"Once complete, the heritage and southern entrances will lead visitors directly to the Commemorative Area of the memorial," Mr Anderson said.
"The War Memorial is not just a museum but a place for solemn commemoration and remembrance of those who have given their lives for their country.
"The new entrance brings that commemoration to the forefront of the visitor experience."
Housed in the lower southern entry will be the memorial gift shop and there will be space for public and private functions.
Places of Pride, a film featuring war memorials from across the country that reflect the diversity of commemoration in Australia, will be shown there.
The memorial's heritage entrance at the top of the stairs will reopen in September and the new southern entrance will be in operation sometime in summer.
- See: awm.gov.au.
