The Space Age design of the Shine Dome, designed by Roy Grounds (of NGV fame), is an icon of Australian post-war modernism and perhaps the architect’s most striking building.

Although reminiscent of a spaceship (hence its nickname, ‘The Martian Embassy’), the building’s dome and circular plan trace their forms back to grand classical arches, arcades, and vaults. Significantly, an open arcade at the building’s base, created through arched cut-outs in the dome, is dispersed by a moat that reinforces the building’s circumference. The moat also serves another function: diffusing and reflecting sunlight under the arched overhang and into the building.