Federation Square, Melbourne
Melbourne's central city grid was designed without a central public square, long seen as a missing element. Following a competition n 1996 for the design of a city square, Federation Square was to have opened in 2001 to celebrate the centenary of the Australian Federation. Budget blowouts, a change of state government and changes to the original design meant that Federation Square opened in October, 2002.
The design includes an art gallery, a cinemedia centre, public spaces, a glazed wintergarden, along with ancillary cafe and retail spaces.
The complex of buildings forms a rough U-shape around the main open-air square, oriented to the west. The eastern end of the square is formed by the glazed walls of The Atrium. Bluestone is used for the majority of the paving in the Atrium and St Paul's Court, matching footpaths elsewhere in central Melbourne.
The main square is paved in 470,000 ochre-coloured sandstone blocks from Western Australia and invokes images of the outback. The paving is designed as a huge urban artwork, called Nearamnew, by Paul Carter and gently rises above street level, containing a number of textual pieces inlaid in its undulating surface.
While I consider Federation to be an ugly public space, it is also one of the most exciting, impressive and futuristic structures I have ever visited. Federation Square is a triumph of design and utility.
Federation Square, Melbourne
Melbourne's central city grid was designed without a central public square, long seen as a missing element. Following a competition n 1996 for the design of a city square, Federation Square was to have opened in 2001 to celebrate the centenary of the Australian Federation. Budget blowouts, a change of state government and changes to the original design meant that Federation Square opened in October, 2002.
The design includes an art gallery, a cinemedia centre, public spaces, a glazed wintergarden, along with ancillary cafe and retail spaces.
The complex of buildings forms a rough U-shape around the main open-air square, oriented to the west. The eastern end of the square is formed by the glazed walls of The Atrium. Bluestone is used for the majority of the paving in the Atrium and St Paul's Court, matching footpaths elsewhere in central Melbourne.
The main square is paved in 470,000 ochre-coloured sandstone blocks from Western Australia and invokes images of the outback. The paving is designed as a huge urban artwork, called Nearamnew, by Paul Carter and gently rises above street level, containing a number of textual pieces inlaid in its undulating surface.
While I consider Federation to be an ugly public space, it is also one of the most exciting, impressive and futuristic structures I have ever visited. Federation Square is a triumph of design and utility.