Federation Square
Cultural Center Competition

Design 1997
Melbourne, Australia
26,000 square meters enclosed area
14,000 square meters public plaza
Structural Steel Frame

Federation square is located on the site
of an abandoned railway yard
that physically divides the central business
district with the Yarra River, the sporting
precinct and the garden precinct.
The proposal draws inspiration from the
unique urban characteristics found in
downtown Melbourne's small scale lanes
and arcades juxtaposed with the wide open
expanses found in the adjoining sporting
and garden precincts. The design creates
a weave of small scale spaces and objects
within a transparent boomerang
superstructure. Just as the boomerang
physically returns to its thrower, the proposal
spatially reunites the city with the parks and
the river in the architectural equivalent of
a federation.