A fresh warehouse for Australia’s records. Artist’s Impression: National Archives of Australia.
Australia’s head record keeper at the National Archives, David Fricker has announced that the construction of a new purpose-built preservation and storage facility for the nation’s 40 million Commonwealth records.
Following the demolition of the existing Canberra facility, the construction of the new 18,000m2 facility will begin this week in September 2015 by local developer, the Doma Group.
The company has executed a 30-year lease with the Archives after a market search for proposals for the design, construction, fit-out and comprehensive maintenance of the new facility.
The development of the new facility comes as the Archives grapples with the ongoing problem of obsolescence in the new world of digital record management, as Mr Fricker has previously warned that digital records are at risk of vanishing or becoming inaccessible if they’re not properly preserved.
Mr Fricker said the preservation and accessibility of these government records “underpins our democratic process and ensures public accountability”.
“The National Archives’ ability to preserve significant government records for the benefit of all Australians – depends upon us having adequate storage capacity,” Mr Fricker said.
He said the records in the care of the Archives come in many formats and some are quite fragile and prone to deterioration, needing specialised facilities and controlled environments.
“We are delighted that the building’s passive, green design will minimise energy and resource use, greenhouse gas emissions and its environmental footprint,” Mr Fricker said.
Doma Group general manager of development Gavin Edgar said “we are very pleased” to have secured the necessary approvals, demolished the existing building on site and commenced the main construction two weeks ahead of program.
“We have hit every contractual milestone we committed to achieving so far with the Commonwealth,” Mr Edgar said.
According to Mr Edgar, one of the other unique opportunities for the Doma Group is the ability to discuss long term funding arrangements with specialist finance providers offering 30-year terms.
“The strength of our Commonwealth track record of delivery and the long-term covenant is attracting a lot of interest in the market,” he said.
The National Archives said that some of Canberra’s “finest subcontractors” have been assembled to deliver this project with Doma Group’s construction arm handpicking a number of key companies to ensure the success of the project.
The Archives expects that the project will be completed in February 2017.
