| Robert Marsden Hope Building | |
| Etymology: | Robert Marsden Hope |
| Status: | Built |
| Building Type: | Office |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Address: | 2 National Circuit,, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Location Town: | --> |
| Location Country: | Australia |
| Coordinates: | -35.3056°N 149.1313°W |
| Current Tenants: | Office of National Intelligence |
| Groundbreaking Date: | 18 March 1939 |
| Start Date: | 1 August 1939 |
| Completion Date: | 12 August 1940 |
| Renovation Date: | 2013 |
| Destruction Date: | --> |
| Ren Cost: | 37 million (2011) |
| Client: | Department of the Interior |
| Owner: | Australian Government |
| Material: | Concrete, sandstone cladding, marble, steel, and timber |
| Floor Count: | 2-3 |
| Architecture Firm: | Cuthbert Claude Mortier Whitley |
| Main Contractor: | Concrete Constructions |
| Ren Architect: | Fender Katsilidis |
| Ren Firm: | ISPT |
| Ren Awards: | ACT Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Development of the Year (2013) |
| Unit Count: | --> |
| References: | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] |
The Robert Marsden Hope Building (formerly the Patent Office Building and also formerly part of the Robert Garran Offices) is a heritage listed[12] government building and the headquarters of the Office of National Intelligence, located on the edge of the Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra, Australia.
Constructed in 1939,[13] [14] it was built to house the patent office following its move from Melbourne in 1934.[15] Prior to its completion, the patent office operated out of Hotel Acton.[16] Like other government buildings constructed in Canberra around that period,[17] it was designed in the Art Deco architectural style.[18]
In addition to the patent office, occupying the building was the ACT Supreme Court,[19] [20] [21] and the Commonwealth Security Services (CSS),[22] [23] [24] a predecessor of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Following their disbandment in December 1945, the CSS moved out[25] [26] with the Supreme Court following suit in 1963,[27] [28] leaving the Patent Office the sole occupant until they too moved in 1975.[29] Replacing them was the Commonwealth Public Service Board, who occupied the building until 1983 when the building was merged into a larger complex housing the Attorney-General's Department.[30] At that time, the building was renamed as part of the Robert Garran Offices.
Following major refurbishment, the building was renamed the Robert Marsden Hope Building on 5 December 2011, in honour of Robert Marsden Hope, a former Justice of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and three-time Royal Commissioner.[31] [32] The Office of National Intelligence has occupied the building since its refurbishment and renaming in 2011.[33]