The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House has been recognised for a project to restore the building following a fire that caused damage in December 2021.

The Old Parliament House Fire Remediation Project team won the Architecture and Building Conservation Category in the 2023 National Trust (ACT) Heritage Awards.

Remediation work was completed on Old Parliament House after fire caused damage to both the interior and exterior of the nearly 100-year-old building.

Over much of 2022 work took place to remediate soot contamination, fire and water damage. The whole building was cleaned, and conservators worked to retain and reconstruct key features such as the front doors and timber parquetry in the front foyer.

Because of the laminated construction with four layers, around 65 per cent of the original doors were retained although the outer layer of timber was irreparable and had to be replaced with close-matching jarrah wood.

The portico was reconstructed based on the original 1959 design and the original steel frame was re-used.

The severely water-damaged foyer was reconstructed using salvaged jarrah wood from demolished houses in WA built in the 1920s so the replica floor looks very similar to the original.

The project was led by the MoAD Heritage and Capital projects team and delivered by conservators, and trades, Manteena Security (Aust) Pty Ltd, International Conservation Services, Celia Cramer Conservation, Conservation Works, Eric Martin & Associates and Art and Archival.

MoAD director Stephanie Bull said: “This chapter in the history of Old Parliament House demonstrates how much this enduring symbol of Australian democracy means to our nation.”