HONGBO YU 784127 Case study final assignment

HONGBO YU 784127

Federation Square – A Connection Point in Melbourne With the development of modern cities, many new needs will emerge. Those projects were built for these city’s needs can be considered as the product of the age. Federation Square that was built in the time of centuries alternating is one of these products. This essay will briefly describe the project and use the data and information collected by case study methods to answer the questions about ‘how do people use and treat the Federation Square’ and ‘the issues of this projects’. In the discussion part, the access, design features, plants, materials and light design of this project will be discussed. The answer of some questions mentioned in item 2, such as design language and materials will come with the discussion part. After that, this essay will critical review the whole project to identify the successful aspects and issues.

Federation square is a large scale landmark which covers 7.9 acres area in Melbourne.

(Barnbra, 2000) It is located at the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street which is one of the most busy areas in city. The various surrounding urban contexts, including Melbourne CBD and St Paul’s Cathedral on the north side, Flinders station on the west side, Yarra River on the south side, National Gallery of Victoria, Queen Victoria Gardens, Alexandra Gardens and Arts Centre Melbourne on the other side of Yarra River, made the Federation Square become an important open space in Melbourne. An urban open space with cultural, commercial and social functions was needed in such a crucial location. The ‘multiple functional’ was also a requirement in the project plan. In 1996, the Victorian government decided to build a new civic square for public use. It is also prepared for the Centenary of Federation in 2001. (Federation Square, 2001) Lab architecture studio won the design competition and they designed the whole project with Bates Smart together. According to the requirement, the Federation Square was built above the city’s major transport hub. (May & Day, 2003) After the whole project was finished in 2002. It became a significant representative of modern urban plaza in Australia and a connection point of surrounding urban context.

To analyse a landscape work, various data and information are necessary. To make sure the result is objective and comprehensive. The data and information that are used in this essay were gathered in multiple case study methods. Reading published text, searching information online (including research the content about the project on social media) , site visit, interview were all used. The questions mentioned in item 2 were solved by using these methods. To answer the question ‘how do people use and treat the Federation Square’, the content about Federation Square that posted by many different people on social media was searched.

Combining with the result of interviewing people in the square, it can be seen that people

come to Federation Square with different purposes including visiting, having lunch, meeting friends, doing activities, taking a walk, joining events. For tourists, the square is just a landmark of Melbourne which is worth to visit. For those Melbourne people who often come to Federation Square, it has become a part of their life. For those Melbourne people who do not often come to the square, it is an important part of Melbourne City because of its location and functions, such as holding important events. The question about ‘Is there any issue in Federation Square’ was solved by interviewing and site visiting. The most common answer is ‘too less shade area in the forecourt’. It can not offer people a good experience in s sunny day with very strong sun light. The other issues, and answer of questions about materials, plants and design features will come with next parts.

Figure 1: Plan and surrounding urban context

As a significant and successful modern urban plaza, the access of Federation Square has been carefully considered and reasonably designed. As shown in Figure 1, Federation Square is surrounded by the main streets, tram network and train station. The site is located at the corner crossed by the Swanston Street and the Flinders Street with tram stops. On the west side, there is the Flinders station which is the oldest station in Australia. (Federation Square, 2001) On the east side, there is a road specially designed for Federation Square with a roundabout. In addition, there are pedestrian entrances in all directions of Federation Square.

Such geographical location and the surrounding traffic environment as well as the entrance design enable people to reach Federation Square from different directions by virtues of multiple means of transportation.

Figure 2: Picture of west side view

Federation Square is a modern urban plaza that is like a combined system of commercial function and city square function. Commercial function is mainly reflected in the aspect of architecture. The buildings in Federation Square include galleries, stores and other functional units. (Barnbra, 2000) According to the Figure 2, the most crucial design features of the architecture part are abundant geometrical elements and the surface made of various materials including glass, steel and masonry. (May & Day, 2003) As the landscape case study, this essay will conduct the analysis of his city square function from the landscape aspect. Federation Square has a variety of significant basic elements of landscape design. First of all, the whole site possesses the typical topography design. One of core landscape design concepts is “play with ground’. Federation Square can form the terrain of high and low patchwork pattern through stairs slopes and platforms, which makes the whole square become interesting. When people walk in the square, the continuously changing terrain will bring people constantly different experiences. As people move, the scenery they see and the connection between light and shadow will naturally change. Your eyes and senses will be kept busy by constantly receiving various kinds of information from your surroundings, so that it will not be boring as you walk through the square.

Figure 3: Levi’s Plaza

This design also embodies a popular concept in modern city square design that a similar natural change of terrain can be achieved in a prosperous city by means of modern materials.

(Constant, 2012) This kind of design reveals the connection between the urban city and nature and can bring the different vitality to the busy city. The notable landscape designer Lawrence Halprin who faithfully advocates this concept takes advantages of modern highly efficient materials such as concrete in the busy downtown to create several imitated mountain models or other natural landforms by utilising stairs, cubic elements and slopes.(Helphand, 2017) Simultaneously, water and plants likewise repeatedly appear in his works, such as the Levi’s Plaza (Figure 3), which reveals the connection with nature.

Another essential element of Federation Square design is the plants including the trees, grass, bush and the other short plants. Trees are mainly distributed on the south side facing Yarra River. The trees type includes Platanus hybrida London Plane (16m H x 14m W), Eucalytpus ssp. (18m H x 12m W), Eucalyptus ssp. (15m H x 10m W), Eucalyptus ssp. (15m H x 8m W), Corymbia citriodora Lemon Scented Gum (25m H x 15m W), Liquidamber styraciflua (14m H x 17m W), Liquidamber styraciflua (8m H x 7m W), Ulmus Elm (16m H x 13m W) and so on. These tall trees with wide crown along the road can provide shade and block the wind like screens. In addition, they create a feeling of transition from modern facilities to natural environment – Yarra River. The grass is used to create some lawn in geometrical shapes which follow the design style of the whole site. The grass also covers some slopes which allow people to rest or sit together for casual talk. As for bush and other short plants, they are mainly used for decoration in some flower beds. These plants enable people to experience more natural feelings in the urban environment surrounded by reinforced concrete. (Bridwell, 2003)While enjoying the connection with nature, this design also echoes the theme of sustainable city.

The materials of the whole square also match the sustainability principle. Except the

buildings, the whole site has reinforced concrete base with bluestone and sandstone surface with geometrical patterns (Figure 2) and some other masonry elements, such as stairs and flower beds. Firstly, the reinforced concrete is very efficient modern building material. It is not expensive and easy to produce. (Sorvig & Thompson, n.d.) In addition, because of its features, this material is easily to construct in site and will not produce many polluting wasted material which shows its environmentally friendly feature. Secondly, the bluestone and sandstone are both local materials in Victoria which means they are easy to gather and machine. As is well-known, these natural materials are one of the best choices for sustainable construction. (Sorvig & Thompson, n.d.) In addition, these two stones are also used in many heritage buildings in Melbourne, such as the St Paul’s Cathedral which locates in the opposite of Federation Square. In materials aspect, the Federation Square shows the connection with surrounding urban context again and it also shows a kind of connection between history and modern society.

The final important aspect is the light design that includes natural light and artificial light. The forecourt which is the main activity area always get enough natural lights. There are no high buildings on the north, south and east side so the forecourt can get wide view and the sun light will not be blocked in daytime. The artificial lights mainly consist of three parts including the lights from buildings, the small lights upon the forecourt (Figure 2) and the road lamps that are mainly located on the south side. These artificial lights can cover most area in Federation Square and they can provide safety, wayfinding and night activation. (2019) To review the whole project, as a typical large scale landscape design, Federation Square is successful in many aspects. Firstly, as an urban plaza or a civic square, it achieved success. As mentioned in the previous part, many people like to spend time in Federation Square. They may come to Federation Square for group meeting, having lunch, taking a walk, reading a book or just sitting down and enjoy the sunshine. This means the square can attract many people. This connects people and the square and different people can connects to each other in the square. It has obtained an important status in many Melbourne people’s heart. In addition, many events, such as RMIT graduation ceremony and some other festival activities, have successfully held in Federation Square. It meets all the necessary requirements of a successful urban plaza. Secondly, it changed the urban appearance. Jolimont rail yards was a problem because it was like an ‘unsightly scar’ which seriously affected the view of Melbourne City.

After the Federation Square was built on a deck over top of these rail yards, this problem had been solved and the cityscape was also improved. ("Urban Design:Federation Square, Melbourne | Archinomy", 2019) Finally, as shown in the previous discussion part, the square has necessary design features and these features are working efficiently. Therefore, it can be seen that the Federation Square is successful in function, urban planning and design aspects.

However, according to the case study result, there are few things can be improved. First of all, as mentioned, according to the interview result, many people think the forecourt may need more shade area. The forecourt is a large and important open space in Federation Square. If planting some high trees or building some fixed shading structure, some events may be affected. Therefore, the portable shading structure or facilities can be a good choice. When the sun light is strong, the staff can put these portable things on the forecourt. This can offer people a chance to sit in the forecourt in a sunny day. In personal opinion, according to the observation in site visit, there are other two aspects can be improved. Firstly, one of the core design thoughts is that all users should be considered in the design process. Many disabled people also come to Federation Square. However, the access to Federation Square for disabled people is not convenient. More slopes with handrail and reasonable slope ratio are needed in different entrances. Secondly, some stairs on the south side are not well lighted up during the night which is not safe. Installing LED light bar under every stair edge will be a good choice and these light bars can also be a part of night decoration.

In conclusion, case study is an efficient way to collect data and information of a project. The result obtained by using case study methods is objective and comprehensive which is excellent source for full scale analysis. After analysing the collected data and information, discussing the Federation Square in many different aspects and critical reviewing the whole project, it can be seen that the Federation Square is a successful project and it may become more successful if some details are improved. In addition, according to the analysis above, the Federation Square has become a ‘connection point’ in Melbourne. It connects itself and surrounding urban context, people and people, people and the square, urban life and the natural environment, past and present. Overall, the Federation Square has become one of the impartible symbols of Melbourne.

Reference (2019). Retrieved from https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/329529/Landscape_Report_July _2018_v4.pdf Barnbra, C. (2000). Federation Square: Melbourne's civic heart (pp. 36-41).

Bridwell, F. (2003). Landscape plants (p. 37). Albany, NY: Delmar Thomson Learning.

Constant, C. (2012). The modern architectural landscape (p. 18). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

[Federation Square Management]. (2001). Federation Square (pp. 12-14). [Melbourne].

Helphand, K. (2017). Lawrence Halprin (p. 21). Athens: The University of Georgia Press.

May, A., & Day, N. (2003). Federation Square (pp. 51-57). South Yarra, VIC: Hardie Grant Books.

Sorvig, K., & Thompson, J. Sustainable Landscape Construction (3rd ed., pp. 15-16).

Washington, D. C: Island Press.

Urban Design:Federation Square, Melbourne | Archinomy. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.archinomy.com/case-studies/1153/urban-designfederation-square-melbourne Image Source Figure 1: (2019). Retrieved from http://www.archinomy.com/sites/default/files/casestudies/2010/federation-square-access.jpg Figure 2: Took by Hongbo Yu, May 19, 2019 Figure 3: (2019). Retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/originals/18/d5/e2/18d5e2fda814e64c5b12e25d0a145383.jpg