The ugly as sin Gas and Fuel buildings, and Princes bridge station.
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I like the pavers. And the interiors are ok, although there is a touch of youth detention centre about it. Best part about Fed Square was seeing the Swans lose by a point in the granny and calling my COLA drinking mate who was watching it in the US. He opened with âfark youâ. Otherwise itâs kind of a horrifying impediment to the riverside which is where I immediately escape to for a panic beer.
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Fed Square is awesome.
I agree it could use a tree or a little grass.
Donât reckon an Apple Store will improve that.
I still donât know where itâs supposed to go.
If I donât have to see it and it doesnât take up bar or performance space then I donât care, I guess.
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Despite those complaining about the look, I think it is as much a part of Melbourne nowadays as Flinders St Station. Good central meeting point.
That being said⌠I also liked the Yellow Peril
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Other cults have their buildings directly across the road. Why not Apple?
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From Donald Bates, architect from firm that designed Fed Square giving his insights into what Fed Square was meant to be and is.
Federation Square is exactly the right place for Melbourneâs new Apple store
Donald Bates, December 21 2017 - 10:47AM
Twenty years ago, Labor Opposition Leader John Brumby spoke about our winning design for Federation Square: âThis design has all the grace and charm of Godzilla.â
For five years (1997â2002), as the architects of the landmark, we were told the design looked like âa random pile of luggage that got run overâ. That it was unfortunate the Taliban couldnât come to Melbourne to blow it up â as they had the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
That it would never work as a public square or centre point for the city: âThe citizens of Melbourne are going to have to live with the fashionable impress of offshore architects, while the opportunity to create a truly fabulous Australian place has been all but lost.â
Not everyone likes Federation Square. Some dislike the architecture. Some bemoan that it is not a park or garden (never its intention). Some complain about sloping topographies.
But after 15 years of operation and more than 10 million visitors each year, it is fair to say that Federation Square is Melbourne. It is the âhomepageâ for the city â the gravitational centre that draws everyone in and projects you out into the vibrancy that is Melbourneâs unique CBD.
It is not the many design awards and proclamations of Fed Squareâs status as one of the worldâs best public squares that confirms its value â it is how much it is a part of daily life in Melbourne.
An essential design aspiration was to counter the mid-20th century vision of cultural precincts as distinct and separate enclaves (such as Melbourneâs Arts Precinct in Southbank, or either the Brisbane or London versions of South Bank). All were conceived as rarefied collections of civic and cultural buildings, separated from the nitty-gritty, slightly gauche world of business, exchange and commerce. Funded by the public purse for primarily elite pursuits.
Fed Square is different. It is embedded in the city. It was conceived â most importantly â as a precinct that conjoins the civic, the cultural and the commercial.
If Fed Square works â and I believe this is undeniable â then it works because the design understood that meaningful civic and cultural life is not a separate, weekend or special occasion experience. It is an on-the-way-to-work experience, on-the-way-to-the-footy experience, a âletâs meet up and go by the gallery before getting something to eatâ experience. The vibrancy, the sense of many options within one location is a function of not separating our high aspirations from daily needs.
The announcement that the Victorian government has approved the inclusion of an âApple Global Flagshipâ store is an affirmation of the original intent and aspiration of Fed Square â to be the centre of action in Melbourne.
The Yarra Building, to be replaced by the new store, was not part of the original design competition. We added it to form a southern, activated edge to the plaza, to help enclose and shield it. However, the Yarra Building has always been an orphan; it was not designed for any specific tenancy or occupation. As such, it has remained the least-successful building in the precinct.
The new design for Apple will allow for a more direct, more logical connection of the activities of Fed Square down to Princes Walk and Federation Wharf. Fed Square as an operating entity is charged with supporting a large cultural and civic charter, made possible by funds generated by tenancy rentals, car parking and charges for commercial events.
Operating without fixed or substantial ongoing government support, Fed Square struggles to maintain its heavily utilised buildings and public spaces, while honouring its public charter. A major corporate tenant such as Apple will go a long way to re-balancing the operational impost on Fed Square.
The design of Apple Fed Square is necessarily of a different and distinct architectural vocabulary. We would abhor a faux-LAB Architecture design, replete with triangles and shifted geometries. The Foster Associates design is simple, pure and of its own aesthetic. Its success will lie in how it maximises the civic nature of Fed Square to form a tight connection with events and activities, bringing an engaging program of debates and discussions, as well as offering a new vista onto the Yarra River.
The incorporation of Apple Fed Square is entirely consistent with the original design inspiration of a 21st century public space, formed by the integration of the civic, the cultural and the commercial.
Donald L. Bates is director and co-founder of LAB Architecture Studio, which designed Federation Square.
âSiri⌠what time do the bombers play at the G and can you order me a glass of red?â
Yep⌠works for me.
Oh just be done with it and put up more farking godawful, soulless apartments you bloodsucking, greedy, fat swine and while youâre at it tear down the old Government House next to the Botanical Gardens and put a Maccas or Hungry Jacks on it.
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I have my own thoughts about who will pay more rent between Apple and the melbourne Festival + an indigenous community service organisation.
It seems my thoughts diverge with the majority here. And the people who run Fed Square for that matter.
Theyâre knocking down the southernmost building, which I posted a pic of above. (Itâs the real ugly one).
I donât know what your second paragraph means, but your first one is a false equivalency, no one ever suggested they were making millions in rent off the current tenants.
Doesnât it all look like that?
Nah. All the buildings are quite distinct.
I donât really know what your point is here.
They wonât pay rent⌠they wonât pay market rate rent⌠of course no-one else is paying rentâŚ
I put it to you if a government owns offices, and they can make more money off said office space, as well as return some land back to free public use, itâs a no brainer.
Happle?
if itâs good enough for the louvre, itâs good enough for fed square.
i never knew so many people treasured fed square as a sacred, untouchable place.
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Does Apple have that much stuff to display?
Itâs the vibe.
Spot on.
The sacred hallowed turf of Transport bar and 7/11 and that restaurant upstairs that changes hands about twice a year.
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