“A Vast Encircled Spaciousness”: William Lucas’ Second-Place-Winning Entry for the National War Memorial of Victoria Competition

In 1923, Australian architect William Lucas was awarded second place in a competition to design the National War Memorial of Victoria, but despite this significant achievement, his design has received little scholarly scrutiny. In the aftermath of the competition, critical attention focused on a single vertical monolith within Lucas’ scheme, interpreting it as the dominant commemorative element. In Lucas’ eyes, however, the broader treatment of the surrounds was inseparable from its meaning, constituting what he described as a “vast encircled spaciousness.” This vision was dependent on his first-hand observations of Greek and Roman theatres, which he first put into practice in an early suggestion for a suitable war memorial for Melbourne, dated to 1919. This paper examines both Lucas’ 1919 and 1923 memorials by drawing on a range of archival materials, including his travel accounts and a previously unpublished suite of photographs of his 1923 design. It examines the way in which his personal religious outlook and first-hand experience of ancient theatres influenced his designs of both 1919 and 1923.