Federation Square Totally Explained

Everything about Federation Square totally explained

Federation Square (also colloquially known as Fed Square) is a cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises a series of buildings containing a public broadcaster, art galleries, a museum, cinemas, exhibition spaces, auditoria, restaurants, bars and shops around two major public spaces, one covered (The Atrium), the other open to the sky, and composed of two spaces that flow into one another (St. Paul's Court and The Square). The majority of the precinct is built on top of a concrete deck over busy railway lines.

Location and layout

Federation Square occupies roughly a whole urban block bounded by Swanston, Flinders, and Russell Streets and the Yarra River. The open public squares are directly opposite Flinders Street Station and St Paul's Cathedral. The layout of the precinct helps to connect the historical central district of the city with the Yarra River and a new park Birrarung Marr. This refocusing of the city on the Yarra River also partly reinforces links with the Southbank district, whose redevelopment has been ongoing as a key part of central Melbourne since the late 1980s.
The site of Federation Square has had a variety of former uses. The Gas and Fuel Buildings and the Princes Bridge railway station were the immediate predecessors, though in the nineteenth century there was a morgue on the site. The result of an international design competition held in 1997 that received 177 enteries, Federation Square was designed by Don Bates and Peter Davidson of Lab Architecture Studio.

Design controversy

When the winning bid was announced in 1997, the design was a source of great controversy, being widely supported by the design community and causing outrage among heritage advocates. There was a change of government during its construction, and the incoming Labor administration ordered a significant design revision to appease conservative critics. The original design included several five storey high 'shards', two of which were free-standing on the north-western edge of the precinct. These two structures were intended to provide a framed view of St. Paul's Cathedral from the St. Paul's Court part of the new plaza. A report drawn up by Evan Walker proposed that the westernmost shard interfered with a so-called "heritage vista", a view of the cathedral from the middle of the tram tracks on Princes Bridge to the south. A major controversy ensued and a single-storey version was the compromised result.
For a while after its opening on 26 October 2002, Federation Square remained controversial among Melburnians due to its striking architecture, but also because of its cost – $440 million and entirely publicly funded, and for the delays in construction (as its name suggests, it was to have opened in time for the centenary of Australian Federation on 1 January 2001).
However, the negativity was short-lived, with approximately 90% of people surveyed reported liking all, or at least parts, of Federation Square.

The Labyrinth

The "Labyrinth" is a passive cooling system sandwiched above the railway lines and below the middle of the square. The concrete structure consists of 1.2 km of interlocking, honeycombed walls. It covers 160 m². The walls have a zig-zag profile to maximize their surface area, and are spaced 60 cm apart.
   During summer nights, cold air is pumped in the combed space, cooling down the concrete, while heat absorbed during the day is pumped out. The following day, cold air is pumped from the Labyrinth out into the Atrium through floor vents. This process can keep the Atrium up to 12 °C cooler than outside. This is comparable to conventional air conditioning, but using one-tenth the energy and producing one-tenth the carbon dioxide.
   During winter, the process is reversed, whereby warm daytime air stored in the Labyrinth overnight, to be pumped back into the Atrium during the day.
   The system can also partly cool the ACMI building when the power isn't required by the Atrium.

Photo Gallery

Image:Federation Square Overview, Melbourne.jpg|Overview of Melbourne Federation Square Image:Federation Square, Melbourne.jpg|Melbourne Federation Square Image:Federation Square (SBS Building).jpg|Melbourne Federation Square (SBS Building) Image:Melbourne Federation Square Theatre.jpg|Federation Square Theatre Further Information

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