Federation Square
Editorial
It's hard to imagine Melbourne without the increasingly popular and important Federation Square, on the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street. Where the old ugly eyesore, the old brown Gas and Fuel Building twin once blocked the view of the Yarra River from the city itself, is now a challenging and vital Melbourne landmark.
After a protracted and controversial development and construction, Federation Square (or Fed Square as its affectionately known), and its cutting edge but controversial design by UK company Lab Architecture, opened in 2002 and has sine become an important and energetic part of Melbourne's city experience.
Federation Square's buildings, while all distinctive, are united by the fractal facade made up of zinc, sandstone and glass, and its open air space, uniquely uneven and sloping, is hand-laid Kimberley sandstone paving. It's home to the Atrium, a covered public space; NGV's Ian Potter Centre, housing one of the best collections of Australian historic and contemporary art collections; the BMW Edge amphitheatre performance space; the Australian Racing Museum; and the Alfred Deakin Building, home to SBS and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).
The Square's open courtyard, with its large screen and many restaurants, bars and cafes, is host to loads of activities and events, from public screenings of sporting events, New Year's Eve festivities and cultural festivals to school holiday programs, outdoor film screenings, exhibitions and concerts.
There's always something on at Fed Square, and it's always worth a visit. And it only keeps getting better. For More information, visit Federation Square.
Tim Hunter, Citysearch
Event Listing
Melbourne Writers Festival
Federation Square Melbourne City, Melbourne 2011-08-25Start:25-Aug-2011
End:04-Sep-2011
2011-09-04Ride To Work Day Breakfast
Federation Square Melbourne City, Melbourne 2011-10-1212 - October 2011
2011-10-12Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2012
Federation Square Melbourne City, Melbourne 2012-03-02Start:02-Mar-2012
End:21-Mar-2012
2012-03-21User Feedback
Luke
July 29, 2009
The square is an eyesore, out of place for the sites around it, Young and Jacksons, Flinders St Station, Saint Paul's Cathedral, than this monstrosity, for shame Melbourne for allowing it to be built.
Sally
November 05, 2009
I think Fed Square is great! There's always heaps of free stuff for me to do with the kids - last winter they had all these puppet shows and giant puppets roaming around the place, the kids loved it. Some people may not like the architecture and neither did I at first, but now I quite like it.
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