{"id":239467,"date":"2023-10-26T01:20:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T01:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=239467"},"modified":"2023-10-26T01:20:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T01:20:20","slug":"loved-hated-soon-to-be-updated-the-next-chapter-for-federation-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/world-news\/loved-hated-soon-to-be-updated-the-next-chapter-for-federation-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Loved, hated, soon to be updated: The next chapter for Federation Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Jewel Topsfield<\/span> and Royce Millar<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Federation Square has been the site of many public gatherings since it opened 21 years ago.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Illustration: Matt Davidson<\/cite><\/p>\n

Save articles for later<\/h3>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n

Donald Bates is intrigued about what\u2019s inside the construction shed on the north-west corner of Federation Square. It\u2019s here an entrance to the Town Hall train station will be revealed in 2025 in a new chapter for one of the most controversial projects in Melbourne\u2019s long history of controversial projects.<\/p>\n

Bates has more reason than most to be curious. He was one of the lead architects of the square, which was initially so polarising that he and his design partner, Peter Davidson, received hate mail.<\/p>\n

Seventeen years after its opening, Fed Square, as it is affectionately known, was deemed of such historical, aesthetic, technological and social significance, it was listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, becoming the youngest building project in Australia to ever be recognised in this way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Donald Bates was one of the lead architects of Federation Square.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n

While the Metro Tunnel station entrance will inevitably be contentious when revealed, Bates believes more people spilling into the square from the trains will be fantastic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Federation Square design was never like \u2018this angle has to be 34 degrees\u2019, or \u2018this is in alignment with the moon\u2019. There is no sacred geometry. So if something needs to change, that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some, the square gave Melbourne its missing civic heart and a landmark to rival the Sydney Opera House. Others say it has conflicting civic and commercial imperatives and design flaws, and that it turns its back on the Yarra River.<\/p>\n

Twenty-one years after it opened, the square remains something of an enigma; its core role elusive, its place in the culture and working of the city unclear. Is it our city square, our landmark, our link connecting the CBD to the Yarra and beyond? Or is Fed Square a work unfinished?<\/p>\n

In a three-part series, The Age<\/em> is exploring Melbourne\u2019s controversial quest for a monument of its own, the future of the square and the thwarted civic dream of building a deck over the Jolimont rail yards.<\/p>\n

Search for a square<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As early as 1850, Melburnians bemoaned the lack of a civic space in surveyor Robert Hoddle\u2019s plan for the CBD, the Hoddle Grid.<\/p>\n

Historian Graeme Davison says residents longed for \u201ca place to hang out and be together \u2026 where citizens could assemble to celebrate, demonstrate and protest\u201d \u2013 Melbourne\u2019s agora or forum.<\/p>\n

Through the decades, grand schemes were proposed, spruiked and shelved. When we finally got a civic space in 1980, it was the doomed City Square with its infamous yellow sculpture, The Vault<\/em>, on the Swanston and Collins Street corner.<\/p>\n

It was a confused space made all the more so by a brief from the conservative city council to architects Denton Corker Marshall to restrict the public area in size to discourage anti-war demonstrations. In the early 1990s the public space was further crunched to make way for the Westin Hotel.<\/p>\n

Melbourne was again without a major civic plaza.<\/p>\n

In 1996, as part of his campaign to revitalise a struggling CBD, then-premier Jeff Kennett announced the city was to get a new public square in time for the centenary of Federation.<\/p>\n

Kennett says the inspiration for Federation Square flowed from the decision to demolish the \u201ceyesore\u201d Gas and Fuel towers built over part of the rail yards in the 1960s, and the growing recognition that the existing City Square was not working.<\/p>\n

When Federation Square finally opened in October 2002 \u2014 the centenary deadline was missed \u2014 it was as if the city had finally found its landmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis space will change the face of Melbourne forever, making us truly a riverside city,\u201d boasted then-premier Steve Bracks.<\/p>\n

It had been a difficult gestation marred by cost overruns, opening delays and a public row over the height of a narrow shard-shaped building that detractors said blocked views of St Paul\u2019s Cathedral.<\/p>\n

The design sparked heated debate when it was unveiled in 1997 after an international architecture competition. Its deconstructivist buildings, cranked angular geometries, scattered vertical shards and paving polarised the public.<\/p>\n

Sociologist John Carroll ridiculed it as \u201ca mixture of Le Corbusier on a bad day and deflated German expressionism \u2026 neither pleasing to the eye nor striking\u201d.<\/p>\n

John Brumby, then Labor opposition leader, said it had all the charm and appeal of Godzilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked,\u201d scoffed Barry Humphries,\u201clike someone left a random pile of luggage in the square which got run over\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kennett made no secret of his displeasure. \u201cYes, I was surprised, to put it nicely,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

Others loved it: \u201cI think it\u2019s a complete expression of everything Melbourne has become,\u201d enthused singer Mike Brady.<\/p>\n

Former VicHealth chief Rob Moodie found it \u201cquite staggering\u201d. \u201cI\u2019m inspired by it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Architect Norman Day predicted it would become an icon, \u201cbut not like the Sydney Opera House, because Melbourne is composed like a tapestry, with new architectural threads woven into its fabric\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hordes visited to check out the crazy architecture, galleries and restaurants, and to attend lively debates in the public lecture theatre.<\/p>\n

In February 2003, the square came of age as a civic plaza when it was the final destination for 100,000 Melburnians who gathered for the city\u2019s largest ever peace march, to protest against Australia\u2019s involvement in the war in Iraq.<\/p>\n

It was the kind of public space Melbourne needed, says University of Melbourne architecture professor Philip Goad. \u201cThere should be places for public speaking about big issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a venue for major events, the square was, and remains, popular.<\/p>\n

Diwali was the first of many cultural festivals, people gathered to watch Kevin Rudd\u2019s national apology to the stolen generations on the big screen, Oprah told an adoring crowd that \u201ceveryone is so darn nice\u201d, Queen Elizabeth crossed the square on a red carpet, 250,000 handwoven poppies covered the site to honour fallen Anzac soldiers, soccer fans cheered on the Matildas, and 10,000 people played the kazoo in a world record-breaking event during this year\u2019s Rising festival.<\/p>\n

Cracks emerge<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But as the novelty wore off the square, weaknesses became apparent.<\/p>\n

Peter Seamer, the square\u2019s chief executive from 2000 to 2005, says it has been \u201ca bit unloved\u201d by the government and city council for some time. \u201cIt reeks of lack of passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the problems has been the tension between the square\u2019s commercial and cultural functions.<\/p>\n

Reflecting 1990s economic thinking, Kennett had insisted it pay its own way, a condition not applied to older public spaces such as the Botanic Gardens.<\/p>\n

The square\u2019s charter says it must operate in the public interest and be financially sustainable. Yet, while it raises revenue from rents, car parking and charges for commercial events, it has reported successive losses.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Michael Gebran, the co-owner of Hero restaurant, which closed abruptly this month.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Penny Stephens<\/cite><\/p>\n

The requirement to make money fuelled concern that culture was playing second fiddle to commercialism: the Crown Bet promotion in 2018, the Bunnings \u201cclick and collect\u201d launch, and the Uniqlo pop-up store in 2019 cited as examples.<\/p>\n

Several restaurants have tried and failed. When Karen Martini\u2019s hatted Hero opened at ACMI on Federation Square in 2021, it was lauded as the kind of eatery the sluggish post-lockdown city needed.<\/p>\n

This month it closed after accruing substantial debt.<\/p>\n

Hero co-owner Michael Gebran believes the square is not seen as a dining destination, despite excellent restaurants including Chocolate Buddha, Transport and Big Esso by Mabu Mabu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be some sort of vortex from a culinary point of view, where people don\u2019t cross Flinders Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apple furore<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Concern over the square\u2019s declining fortunes led to the government\u2019s plan in 2017 to replace its Yarra Building with an Apple store, disparaged by some as a \u201cPizza Hut pagoda\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some saw the ensuing dispute as a fight over the privatisation of public space and for Melbourne\u2019s civic soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big concern was that we would end up with Apple wearing Federation Square like a hat,\u201d says architect Michael Smith, a leader of the Our City, Our Square campaign.<\/p>\n

In response, the National Trust nominated the square to the Victorian Heritage Register. Apple shelved its plans after Heritage Victoria refused to allow it to demolish the Yarra Building.<\/p>\n

The quashed Apple store left the square at a crossroads. In 2019, amid concern it was withering away, the government ordered a review.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go there pretty much any time outside of maybe a weekend event, it\u2019s pretty sad,\u201d former planning minister Richard Wynne observed at the time. And that was before COVID struck.<\/p>\n

The review found the community wanted the square reasserted as Melbourne\u2019s civic and cultural centre. It acknowledged concern about over-commercialisation and said the eateries should better reflect the state\u2019s \u201camazing food\u201d and cultural diversity.<\/p>\n

In 2021 the government announced the square would be revitalised as part of an expanded arts precinct that includes the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne and the new NGV Contemporary.<\/p>\n

Federation Square Pty Ltd was dissolved and the square and other arts institutions are now managed by the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Katrina Sedgwick wants the community to feel it owns the square. She wants to support multicultural communities to hold flag-raising ceremonies and attract more festivals including the African Music and Cultural Festival, Korean Festival and Diwali, and arts festivals such as Fringe, Rising, Yirramboi and Midsumma.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Katrina Sedgwick, CEO of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation, wants the square to be a meeting place for dining and exploring the city\u2019s cultural offerings.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Ascui<\/cite><\/p>\n

She would like to see fewer commercial pop-ups, which she says clutter the square and distract from an \u201camazing architectural precinct\u201d.<\/p>\n

Seamer believes Apple would have been a much-needed drawcard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe square needs activity and it doesn\u2019t get enough activity from some of the uses there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annual attendance at the square \u2014 which peaked in 2012-13 at 10.4 million \u2013 dropped to under 4 million during the pandemic. In 2022-23 foot traffic increased to 7.9 million visitors, still substantially below pre-COVID numbers.<\/p>\n

Sedgwick is focused on finding tenants for vacant shops and offering a broader range of food. She says the new NGV cafe, which offers cheaper lunchtime fare, has already proved a hit with families.<\/p>\n

Despite a problem during one of the broadcasts of this year\u2019s Matildas FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup games, when unruly fans stormed barriers and threw flares, Sedgwick is clear that the square will continue screening big sporting events, albeit with higher fences and security in some cases.<\/p>\n

She wants the square to be a vibrant meeting place where friends get together to look at art and explore culture. \u201cYou go to talks or concerts or films or exhibitions, you have a snack, you meet, and you go shopping. You pop in and have a beer before you go to the MCG. It\u2019s already used like that. But I\u2019d like that to be amplified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Design flaws<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Two decades on, the square\u2019s design is no longer so divisive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Melburnians now love it. They come here to see the fireworks and the footy,\u201d says Norman Day. \u201cAnd then they fought for it when Apple tried to insert that glass box in it. It\u2019s typical of Melburnians \u2013 they didn\u2019t like it initially, and then they say, \u2018Don\u2019t you touch it, it\u2019s ours.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Kennett is among them. \u201cI love Federation Square now,\u201d he says, highlighting in particular the paving that changes colour with the weather.<\/p>\n

Carroll, the sociologist who described Fed Square as \u201ca mix of Le Corbusier on a bad day and deflated German expressionism\u201d, concedes: \u201cI\u2019ve mellowed in my attitude to Fed Square, as it seems to have worked as a social space.\u201d <\/p>\n

But big challenges remain.<\/p>\n

To begin with, says the University of Melbourne\u2019s Philip Goad, the architects seemed oblivious to the city\u2019s weather. He points to the lack of shade. \u201cIt can be a sun scoop in summer and then a breezeway in winter because it faces south-west, where all our weather comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cobblestone paving is also problematic for some. The idea was to prevent the square becoming a skate park, but the uneven surface is the bane of the mobility impaired.<\/p>\n

The square\u2019s slope has limited the kind of al fresco dining so common in European public squares, such as Piazza San Marco in Venice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe undulating landscape is a fundamental problem,\u201d says Goad. \u201cIt\u2019s part of this artistic moment that is Fed Square, that actually bedevils simple, ordinary urban existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

An important element in the design is its referencing of the Hoddle Grid\u2019s celebrated laneways just across Flinders Street.<\/p>\n

Tania Davidge, an architect and a leader of the Our City, Our Square campaign, says that, like the laneways, there is adventure in moving through the square, not always sure about where you might end up, as the architects intended.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a celebration, in its own funny way, of the laneways and the idiosyncrasies of Melbourne.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goad disagrees: \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been able to fully capitalise on the laneways idea. It doesn\u2019t have that close intimacy of the laneways that were its inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Location, location, location<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some of the square\u2019s challenges are due to its location and lack of connection to the Hoddle Grid to the north and the Yarra River to the south.<\/p>\n

Donald Bates, one of the lead architects, says the original design did propose a pedestrian link and connection from the plaza through the bluestone vaults to the riverside. These were omitted due to budget constraints.<\/p>\n

If Bates had his time again, he would animate the riverside and the back of the car park with cafes and restaurants.<\/p>\n

Kennett agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s a pity it didn\u2019t open it up to the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

A long-understood foundation of public squares in Europe is the presence of the \u2018three Cs\u2019 \u2013 the civic (a parliament or town hall), the church and the commercial (a market, cafes).<\/p>\n

Federation Square has always suffered from the lack of first two pillars as its location is removed from the CBD and its institutions.<\/p>\n

Many of the world\u2019s great squares are in the heart of their cities, and are often thoroughfares, like Piazza Navona in Rome and Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Fed Square is a thoroughfare to nowhere in particular.<\/p>\n

To date, little has happened to address the poor connection to the river and beyond. Exactly how the square is to better connect to the arts precinct, as part of the 2021 strategy, remains unclear.<\/p>\n

Historian Graeme Davison says the square works well when people come together to watch an event on the big screen, \u201cwhen Melburnians become spectators as well as celebrants of some great occasion occurring elsewhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

He suggests it could be an appropriate space for a global digital society.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, though, a square must still have some of the historical qualities that we associated with the Greek polis \u2013 a place where citizens come together physically, speaking and acting in full view of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davison notes that demonstrators often prefer tighter spaces such as the forecourt of the State Library, where the pro-Palestinian rally was held earlier this month, or opposite Parliament House, \u201ceither because you can create an impression of crowdedness for the TV cameras, or because the political symbolism is stronger\u201d.<\/p>\n

Goad also observes many use the State Library forecourt, a central and better-protected space with a great civic institution as its backdrop, as a de facto city square.<\/p>\n

Monument or moment?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Is Federation Square the landmark Melbourne never had?<\/p>\n

Despite the early hype, Melburnians don\u2019t seem to regard it as such. Nor, these days, do they seem troubled by the lack of a landmark.<\/p>\n

Goad says the square\u2019s design ethos was not about creating \u201cTrafalgar Square with a hero monument\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour readers may not want to read this, but Fed Square is this deconstruction moment. It\u2019s meant to be about informal interaction, and to be porous. So in many respects, it\u2019s a monument to a moment of the anti-monumental in urban design.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bates says the square was meant to be fluid so it could change with the times. He was torn, therefore, about its heritage listing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the one hand, I was like, shit, we\u2019ve just done the only building we\u2019ve ever done in Australia, and it\u2019s already on the heritage list after just 17 years. But it really bothered me that the heritage listing basically puts the building in aspic and says you can\u2019t change anything without asking the heritage people, when our design was partly built on the premise that change is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

An avid fan, Davidge nonetheless agrees the square has to be allowed to evolve. \u201cIt has needed that since it started because, as a new type of contemporary public space, it doesn\u2019t have the three pillars of a European square anchoring it.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Is the square Melbourne\u2019s missing link, connecting the CBD to those much loved and used spaces to the east and south-east, like the MCG and sports precinct? A link that would make the square a through<\/em> as well as to<\/em> place?<\/p>\n

Take a train into Flinders Street from Richmond or Jolimont and look up.<\/p>\n

The square ends with a jolt, its lifeless car park backing onto the vast Jolimont rail yards, where for a century governments have promised to build a grand civic corridor reconnecting the CBD to the city\u2019s south and east, a project often referred to as Federation Square East.<\/p>\n

Kennett stresses that Fed Square was always intended as the first part of \u201ca rolling process\u201d of building over the rail yards.<\/p>\n

Such a connection could help provide the missing link.<\/p>\n

Federation Square is a work in progress.<\/p>\n

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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