The panoramic view from the new visitors' centre at the $67 million National Arboretum gives the impression that one could almost reach out and touch Telstra Tower, the flagpole of Parliament House and the Lovett Tower in Woden.
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Floor-to-ceiling windows stretching along 60m at the front of the centre, high above Lake Burley Griffin, reveal what must be one of the best views in Canberra and ensure the building will be the scene of many a sought-after function in the years to come.
The centre, with its striking domed roof, will be handed over to the ACT government by the builders in two weeks.
The arboretum will be opened to the public with a range of family-orientated activities on February 2, with an official opening to be held the day before.
The Voices in the Forest concert will be held on November 24.
The ACT government has contributed $47 million towards the arboretum and the federal government $20 million.
The visitors' centre was included in that spend, costing about $14 million, excluding expenses such as earthworks and services which were absorbed into the general budget, a spokesman for Territory and Municipal Services said.
TAMS director of city services Fleur Flanery said 87 of the planned 100 forests had been planted. ''We're at a very busy stage, a very critical stage and it's just a very exciting time,'' she said.
While most of the trees were still in their infancy, this period of the arboretum was as important as any other.
''Seeing something new fills people with a sense of potential,'' Ms Flanery said.
Project Coordinator project manager David Carr said the trickiest part of the build was erecting the roof which took 11 weeks.
The domed roof covered more than 2000 square metres, had more than 3000 components and eight layers to it. The Tasmanian oak beams had been harvested from sustainably managed forests. The longest beam was 56 metres. The roof stood 11 metres high in the middle.
''Until it was fully erected there was the risk of it falling over on its own weight,'' he said, adding the worksite had been incident-free.
The rock-walled walkway to the visitors' centre will be embedded with LED lighting able to be programmed to change colour and art glass evoking plant fossils.
The interior and exterior rock walls have been made from Wee Jasper bluestone.
The visitors' centre will have a cafe and be available for functions from weddings to corporate dinners.
Separate rooms have been set aside for the national bonsai collection.
Mr Carr said he found it difficult to detach himself from the day-to-day pressures of overseeing the build but there were still times when the building caught him by surprise.
''Some mornings I will come in and look out the window and think, 'Wow this is beautiful','' he said. ''I think every Canberran is going to be proud of it.''
