Federation Square

The project for Federation Square incorporates the design of a new civic square for Melbourne, capable of accommodating up to 35,000 people in an open-air amphitheatre, with cultural and commercial buildings as part of the precinct.

The cultural and commercial facilities combine for almost 44,000 sqm. They include new galleries for the national gallery of Victoria: australian art and the australian centre for the moving image, as well as facilities for SBS radio and television, and numerous restaurants and cafes existing on a site of 3.6 ha, equivalent to the construction of a new city block for Melbourne.

The civic plaza of Federation Square (7,500 sqm, and external landscaping 10,000 sqm) has been programmed to providethe new civic heart for Melbourne. The plaza, and federation square in general have been developed as the locus and orientation point for Melbournians and for regional and international visitors alike. The plaza has been developed to operate as a compound spatial figure, with multiple points of activity and focus. At the same time it can operate as a single activity space, focused towards the stage and large video screen. The plaza is a key for the entire project, establishing precise and varying relationships with the acknowledged diverse context of the city, the landscape around the site as well as those buildings within it.

Federation Square is the creation of a new urban order on a site that never before existed. more than just a new set of buildings, federation square is the new centre of cultural activity for melbourne. fulfilling the long held dream for a large, open public gathering space in melbourne, Federation Square has given the citizens of Victoria an authentic civic destination. In the true spirit of federation, this design brings together distinct elements and activities that form a complex ensemble based upon the collective and the unique. Within an architecture of difference and coherence, the design has brought together disparate institutions and allowed their true differences to be registered in the developed geometries, while also maintaining a visual and formal coherence across the site. Importantly, the design sought to produce a cultural and civic precinct based on permeability, allowing for the interaction of visitors, precinct workers and the passerby.

Federation square is the re-affirmation of the original interactive nature of civic existence. Rather than a closed enclave of controlled and regulated activities, this project creates a network of animated, emotive and enlightening experiences. Federation Square has integrated a broad range of civic, cultural and commercial activities, responding to the vitality and openness of daily life. Since the project has opened, Federation Square has exceeded all expectations to become one of australia’s biggest tourist destinations welcoming over 20 million visitors. Federation square has become the new centre - the new social, political and cultural heart of Melbourne.