But just as the first world war changed Australia's fabric, it altered the very shape of its capital.
Hollow, in the shape of a capital A, you can see right through it to the rolling hills beyond - a smudge of red, yellow and green in the afternoon sun.
At around the same time, the firm moved from its cramped but cosy premises in the Village to a set of plush, custom-built offices with an entrance in the shape of a capital G and a plush office on the top floor for the editor-in-chief.
Using the G.P.S. tracking app RunKeeper, the designer planned a grueling nine-mile path in the shape of the capital letter A. But it wasn't until he "drew" the letter B (a more manageable four miles) that he officially launched his typography-meets-topography Web site.
The shape of Greek capital letter Θ (Theta) reflects two sets of such components (two sets of tendons, cables etc).
Places like Kozhen Mozhe are helping people integrate into the city in a bid to stop the influx of people from the East changing the shape of the capital and causing resentment among its citizens.
Cut out a piece of cardboard in the shape of a capital letter D. Now you have done a bit of the bow.
Political structures have to be respected or at least understood, in particular the ways in which the 32 boroughs, plus the City of London, have more effect on the shaping of the capital than the mayor or anyone else.
A magnificent limestone capital from the Church of Nativity erected between 1192 and 1196 in the town of Vladimir has the shape of a Romanesque capital, but its formal ornament is carved in a style reminiscent of the repertoire of Islamic Iran with its distant Hellenistic legacy.
The Metropolitan Green Belt forms a final concentric ring, defining the shape of the whole capital.
