Princes Bridge view: From the south extent of Princes Bridge on the east side footpath looking toward the Elizabeth Street Clock Tower
St Paul’s view: From the Flinders Street footpath in front of the steps into St Paul’s Cathedral looking towards the main dome
STAGE 1
RENEWAL OF MELBOURNE’S FLINDERS STREET STATION THROUGH THREE STAGES
Refurbishment of existing Administration Building to allow for public access to ballroom, create new childcare and lounge spaces for seniors and others
Complete the redevelopment of Swanston St by diverting cars and creating a pedestrian canopy that links to trams and across to Federation Square
Re-build Eastern Concourse to complete Swanston St facade as per original 1899 competition design “the Green Light” by Fawcett and Ashworth
Re-arrange Elizabeth Street Entrance to include Concourse below tracks and add new city loop shuttle to platform 1
Development of Milk Dock for freight delivery and completion of Elizabeth Street Concourse over tracks (learning from 1899 competition design)
Very Fast Train to Adelaide and Sydney and Airport Express with in-town check-in, western end to be developed into services for VFT + business hub
STAGE 3
STAGE 2
APPENDIX D
There is movement at the Station, and the time has come to renew the Dream, a generation of Melbournians believed in, when they designed and constructed this “Gem” of a building at the River! The time is right. Swanston Street is being transformed into a Pedestrian Boulevard.The 1932 Art Deco Manchester Unity is being restored bringing new life to this precinct.The Westin Passage from Collin Street across Flinders Lane will soon see improvements for Pedestrians walking through ompetition Drawings, 1899 Chapterhouse Undercroft towards Flinders Street & Federation Square. St Pauls’ Cathedral welcomes the idea of having a pedestrian Boulevard outside its doors. What Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station has, the envy of other cities, is the “River” that we believe needs to be open its views to the Station and the travellers. It needs to be much more a part of this Precinct, reaching across its ancient waters to Southbank and the northern End of the Botanical gardens, becoming truly the Centrepiece of Melbourne’s CBD. The Administration Building has been asleep for decades! The great Ballroom is no longer in use. The many Artisan shops and workplaces
Queens Bridge view: From the south extent of Queens Bridge on the west side footpath looking towards the main dome
Clock Tower view: From the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Flinders Lane
deserted, the Soul of an era forgotten and left only as a memory for a few! Heritage retention is not enough to awaken this fine building and bring it alive to our times. What is needed is careful renewal and repair and importantly the recapturing of its former purpose.The whole building’s fabric needs a sustainable intervention to guide it into the next century, and give back to it, its rightful place at the River and the civic pride it once enjoyed in Melbourne and Australia. The intersection of Flinders & Swanston Sreets, given its new pedestrian quality and character, casts a lifeline to the Station, to the Pub and the Cathedral, to Federation Square, the bridge and the River! It provides an opportunity for the city of Melbourne to become a word class pedestrian precinct, which connects with the River and our trams, as it seeks to diminish the impact of vehicular traffic in this part of the city. This is our aim -- in a 3 Stage development -- as part of a major transport renewal project of much-needed public infrastructure. D3
Market-scale canopy over Swanston St tram interchange to pedestrianize links to Federation Square, River + St Paul’s (sketch development)
Further development of new steelcanopy structure over Swanston St (meeting point + tram conection)
FLINDERS STREET STATION DESIGN COMPETITION | THE HEART OF MELBOURNE | PERSPECTIVES + STAGING + KEY IDEAS
Structural details of new Eastern Concourse to ‘complete’ Swanston St facade as per original 1899 competition design
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Masterplan - Scale 1:1000
Western Freight Delivery Concourse Very Fast Train Airport Express
Central Concourse
City Loop Shuttle Metro Trains
Eastern Concourse
Refurbishment of existing Administration Building Re-build Eastern Concourse to complete Swanston St facade
Train
Tram
Pedestrians
Development of Milk Dock for freight delivery and completion of Elizabeth Street Concourse over tracks
Bicycle
Stage 1
OVERVIEW
TRANSPORT FUNCTION
HERITAGE
PRECINCT INTEGRATION & URBAN DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT DELIVERY
The time has come to draw inspirations from other great Stations around the World. St. Pancras Station in London, the wonderful structure from the Victorian era, has been renewed and given back to the community, who love the old charm of this Victorian Masterpiece, cloaked with great charm and new technology, ready to serve a new generation of travellers. Berlin has rebuilt a new central Hauptbahnhof with different levels of Arrival & Departure, a clever technological masterpiece. And the “Grand Central” in New York is still buzzing and looking good, as it copes with New York’s travel demand.
Critical to maintaining Melbourne’s status as the world’s most liveable city is the need for increased public transport accessibility - Melbourne simply cannot continue to depend on car travel. Melbournians are incredibly proud of their trams -- and with the ongoing redevelopment of Swanston Street, there is a perfect opportunity to better link Melbourne’s major tram corridors to suburban and regional trains and beyond. We propose to do this by diverting vehicular access and creating a pedestrian canopy from the station over Swanston Street to Federation Square.
One of first things to do is to refurbish Admin building - unlocking spaces to be used again by the public - the ballroom, childcare, lounges (memory of Railway Institute)
This proposal continues Melbourne’s much-loved grid with links from Elizabeth, Degraves, Queen, and Market Streets coming through the station and connecting the city to the Yarra River from north to south. A permeable southern edge along the river provides strong east-west pedestrian and cycling connections, as well as widening where it meets Princes Bridge to give better access across to the arts precinct.
Staged Implementation:
Advanced cities around the world are becoming radically more liveable and efficient. These advances require new skills in social and technical thinking, design, materials and manufacturing. This proposal provides a platform on which Victoria can lift its skills, capacities and our economy ways which will flow through our community.
In a future where air travel is becoming less affordable and desirable, Melbournians would like to see Victoria leading the nation by creating a Very Fast Train station at the western end of Flinders Street. Melbourne would be securing its future in terms of productivity and sustainability through increased connectivity to interstate cities, as well as new modes of power generation, freight and mail delivery.
We believe we need to learn from and respect the original 1899 design that was never realized. What we have now is only part of the original scheme, the current concourse is heritage vandalism and should be removed. Platform canopies weren’t in original scheme but were alternative designed and built at the time – they are now part of the history of the station, beautiful and worth keeping. We aim to finally realise the three arch façade to Swanston St from the 1899 plan. Tube-like structures ties together the new concourse and heritage canopies, resolves issues of platform safety, etc. Direction of VFT, AE to the west similar to 1899 plan, and the Elizabeth St concourse will have its structure to tie east-west together in perpendicular direction, also as per 1899 plan but new design.
A new Eastern Concourse will address and become the Swanston Street façade and a pedestrian-scale canopy extends over the Swanston Street tram line to connect Federation Square and provide better walking access to the Yarra River, Birrarung Marr and the sports precinct. A new Western Concourse and business hub will be built to activate the Flinders Street façade between Queen St and Market St, while the Very Fast Train and Airport Express lines will have a strong visual presence at the western end of the site.
FLINDERS STREET STATION DESIGN COMPETITION | THE HEART OF MELBOURNE | MASTERPLAN + RESPONSE TO DESIGN EVALUATION CRITERIA
Stage 2
Stage 3
This proposal is for a far-reaching vision, which will serve Melbourne as it grows and evolves - both integrated and ambitious to respond to and lead city evolution. The proposal is staged, to fit seamlessly into a long-term vision. The timeframe for each stage will be determined by the pace of city and funds. Given that this proposal is design to be catalytic for the city’s future development, it is designed for 2030 completion. The design maintains the existing rail alignments and platforms, and allows future additions at different levels. The concourses are constructed in stages to allow pedestrian accessibility is maintained. The major addition of a Very Fast Train is included in a later stage and with a typology that can be added at a different level. Development of the western end is timed to coincide with the VFT implementation.
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North bank covered bike path and pedestrian walk (long square) Schematic long elevation viewed from the south (Yarra River) 1:500
Schematic cross section at East Concourse (section line: north-south from Flinders Street to the Yarra River viewed from the west)
Schematic cross section at Elizabeth St (section line: north-south from Flinders Street to the Yarra River viewed from the west)
OUR FLINDERS STREET STATION
Barbara, 63, retired
Josh, age 7
I’ve lived in Doncaster for most of my life. I used to drive to my friends’ house to pick them up to go to the Heide Gallery together because city parking was too expensive. Now I can just hop on the train and be in the city in 20 minutes. My friends Margaret and Bill said they will meet me at the West Lounge at Flinders St - they’ll probably be busy chatting with others over a cup of tea. We’ll visit the NGV which is only a short walk from the station, and afterwards we’ll jump on the tram to the theatre. If I have a drink or two after the show it’s not a problem, as I’ll be taking the train home!
My great grandad just told me that he used to go to the same childcare that I go to now at Flinders Street Station. He said that he doesn’t really remember it, but he has a photo of him standing above the platforms and train tracks. Our playroom is in a really nice old building and it also has a rooftop where we can play outside. I go there when my mum has a meeting on Thursday afternoon and on Sunday when she goes shopping. My favorite friends there are Hussain, Jon, Kayoko, and Yiwen - we all go to different schools. I only see Kayoko sometimes because she lives in Traralgon.
Lee, 41, engineer
Maya, 35, graphic designer
I’ve always loved Flinders Street Station -- such a beautiful building! But for some reason, it’s always felt like a bit of a barrier between the city and the river. I’m so glad that they re-did the Elizabeth Street entrance because I work just on Collins Street and now it’s so much easier for me to get to Southbank for dinner with friends. I really like that they left the original station untouched but still really modernised it with the new East Concourse structure -- it somehow feels like it was always meant to be there and almost makes me forget that hideous thing they built in the 80’s!
My life is so much more balanced now that I’m using public transport and walking to everything that I have to do in my day. I can’t believe I used to sit in traffic for hours going between work and picking up the kids from school and dance and footy and back and forth to Chadstone for things. I’ve started working from the Hub at Flinders Street and it’s great because I can leave the kids at the childcare just next door. When I have to meet clients at Flagstaff I just jump on the city loop shuttle - it’s really easy. The kids and I love going to the supermarket together on the way home too!
Tania, 28, accountant
Stephen, 55, entrepreneur
I have a busy working life in Melbourne but I try to go overseas to visit my family in Jakarta and London two or three times a year. With heavy luggage (mostly obligatory presents for relatives!) the only real way to get to Tullamarine used to be by taxi. Now with the in-town check-in at Flinders Street, I can drop off my bags up to 24 hours before my flight and they go straight onto my plane via the shuttle. I’m free to do last-minute things (like having a proper coffee in Degraves St!) until my flight and the Airport Express gets me straight to the Tulla in 15 minutes!
Until last year I used to fly between Sydney (where I’m from) and Melbourne constantly. If I wasn’t at a meeting, you’d find me working at the Qantas lounge or trying to get something printed at the hotel. They have really made my life a lot easier since they built the VFT - I can stay connected through the free wifi and its a much quicker trip door-to-door. I love the new co-working space at Flinders Street Station - they’ve got great facilities and I’ve made so many new contacts. I’m even considering expanding my business now that they’re completing the VFT link to Adelaide.
STARTING POINT
MEETING POINT / DESTINATION
BRIEF COMPLIANCE We believe that this proposal meets the competition objectives to upgrade Flinders Street Station with its careful consideration of the existing heritage elements and history of the buildling, improved transport amenity and capacity, better integration with the Melbourne city grid, the Yarra River, Federation Square through activated frontages and completing the original vision of the 1899 design, and a viable option to develop the western portion of the site into a VFT and Airport Express Station as well as a business hub.
Tube-like structures over rail tracks to connect new Eastern Concourse with existing heritage platform canopies
Canopies to be re-glazed and new automated sliding doors to be installed at platform edge for passenger safety
Tube-like structure to be ‘open-to-sky’ over trains to maintain air quality and allow for structural gauge envelope
Tube-like structure to river edge to provide some shading for pedestrians and cyclists
Our proposal does put forward significant design proposals and challenges beyond the title boundary which would greatly improve the functionality of the precinct and the station’s eficiency and amenity. This includes connection to an Airport Express shuttle and a Very Fast Train network which we believe Victoria should lead the
nation in making a reality in the medium-term. The other proposed options include changing vehicular traffic flows toward the city down St Kilda Road to divert at the National Gallery of Victoria and preventing Flinders Street traffic from turning south into St Kilda Road at Federation Square. This proposal strives to make Flinders Street Station a place of high value for all Victorians. Given that it would become a transit hub for metropolitan, interstate and international travel, most Victorians will derive direct benefit from it, whether they are based in Melbourne or regional towns aned cities. We believe that the range of programs and experiences that the station will afford will make it a destination in itself as well as providing efficient and enjoyable travel. The main hope is that Flinders Street Station will become the heart of Melbourne, once again. It’s time.
FLINDERS STREET STATION DESIGN COMPETITION | THE HEART OF MELBOURNE | ELEVATION + SECTIONS + EXPERIENTIAL SCENARIOS + BRIEF COMPLIANCE
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