Melbourne’s Federation Square and its Heritage Discontents, 1994-2002

Abstract

From its 1994 conception to its 2002 realisation, Federation Square generated an intense public dispute between groups associated with architecture and conservation. Created by London-based LAB Architecture Studio following a design competition and located at the southern gateway to central Melbourne, Federation Square was a notable example of late-twentieth-century public architecture. It functioned as a civic and national monument and incorporated a sophisticated design response to its immediate physical and broader symbolic contexts. However, conservation activists the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) opposed Federation Square and specifically “the shard”, a structure which partiall..