Federation Square, Melbourne

The 30,000sqm site is interpreted as the meeting of primary landscapes; continental land and the urban surface. Cultural facilities talk of cultivation, urbanity, deep history and modernity. The represented landscapes are woven together, wrapped, warped, layered and bifurcated; compressed into a dynamic vortex of activities, a fertile ground, from which sculptural living environments are cultivated.
The public arriving from the station or Melbourne Park can freely appropriate a diversity of environments from submerged galleries and sunken gardens, through sunlit wintergardens, outdoor planting and up onto viewing decks overlooking the river.
The interactive display pods of the Discovery Gallery are raised as a linear hanger, with TV/Radio operations and restaurants accessed by broad ramps below. Retail is predominantly located at ground level. Cinemedia facilities have a dedicated lobby.
Contemporary art installation spaces occur within a bending edge building, overlooking the Civic Square. Art Galleries are roofed by an undulating extension of Melbourne Park. Scattered restaurants, cafes and bars allow considerable flexibility of operation, and different characters. A shuttle tram terminal offers convenient access with limited car parking in the northerly basement and tour bus loading areas protected by canopies.