ABSTRACT
Association in the early 1980s, deciding in 1994 to start working together. We began by doing 15-20 competitions in the next two or three years. One of these was the open international design competition for the Federation Square project, a project in the center of Melbourne, Australia. The project is located at the south-eastern quadrant of the principal intersection in the city (figure 14.1), with the main road that goes south and north through the central business district (CBD). The main train station, Flinders Street Station, is to the west and the historic building of Young and Jackson’s and the St Paul’s Cathedral to the north. The project is a heterogeneous mix of art galleries and multimedia spaces, a large public space, commercial activities, restaurants, cafés, and shops, all of it built above the railway lines that are located 8 m below street level. The project was a way of completing this significant intersection, which from the very beginning of Melbourne – and certainly with the introduction of the railways – somehow remained incomplete in its south-western corner. In 1996, the Government of Victoria and the City of Melbourne decided to launch a two-stage competition for this unfulfilled site, and we were fortunate enough to win the project.
