The director of the Australian War Memorial Matt Anderson calls the building's spacious new "Atrium" its "lung". It's a light place for visitors to breathe in after the darkness of the war exhibitions on either side.
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"We know that when people come from very confronting elements of First World War, Second World War, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, the stories we tell in the main building, they come into a bright, open space," he said.
"And they can reset. They can recharge. They can have a brew."
There's a cafe in the corner of the Atrium. And there are a few, albeit spectacular, exhibits in the space, but the overwhelming impression is of ease. Light streams in from high vaulted windows and transparent roof. The real star of the show is the building itself.
Curator Emily Hyles liked the sandstone walls, matching the sandstone of the old building because they came from the same quarry.
"The sandstone blocks which make up such a beautiful heritage building were quarried from the Hawkesbury region. And that's the same area that the sandstone on this newer wall is from, so it's a lovely link."
She said the chairs in the Atrium were made from wood recovered from old wartime airfields in Australia, and that kind of care of detail added to the appeal.
"I think that the beauty continues in the new space but in a different and much more modern way," she said.
"It's such a recognisable building in Australia. It's a very loved institution."
When the old Anzac Hall, right at the back in the shadow of Mount Ainslie, was demolished to clear the way for the $550 million rebuild, there was an outcry. It had won architecture awards and its fans viewed its destruction as an act of vandalism.
But few would doubt that the replacement is spectacular. Mr Anderson saw it as a triumph and pointed to the visitors returning to the War Memorial in pre-pandemic numbers.
The next stage to open in the $550 million project will be the replacement for the old Anzac Hall itself, slated to open for Anzac Day in two months.
The new Anzac Hall will have the exhibits from conflicts and peace-keeping in Afghanistan, Iraq and other more recent conflicts as well as some Second World War material. The Lancaster bomber will be there.
"People who might just come to the Australian War Memorial and want to see peacekeeping or Afghanistan or Iraq or G for George or Milne Bay, after they've done that, they can come back into this space again and refresh and recuperate and recharge," Mr Anderson said in the Atrium.
Apart from the space itself, the other star of the Atrium is the Black Hawk helicopter perched on a podium there.
And one of the people inspecting it on Friday morning was Rod Henderson who flew in it from 2002 to 2011.
"I find it humbling to see it on display because it's been such a big part of my life, but also amazing to the sense that there is now a museum piece that I was once part of," he said.
The head of the army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart was also inspecting the Atrium. He was moved by the way the revamped Memorial is shaping.
"It's those stories of everyday Australians who've chosen to step up and serve, to put purpose and people before themselves," he said.
"It's their stories of how they have represented our nation and our fellow Australians, in war, in conflict, and in every situation at home and overseas where people have been in need."
And he said "happy birthday" to the navy. In 1901, the states of Australia formed the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Commonwealth Military Force were then established on March 1.
"Birthdays are a great opportunity to come together with families and friends to reflect on our past.
"And more than two million Australians who've worn our uniform, and the many millions more in their families and their friends that have supported them, and soldiering is a team effort, and I want to send a shout out to our families and to our friends, because they serve."
