Photo: edwin.11 via Flickr
Since it was constructed, Federation Square has served as a great meeting point for events in the city. However, it does attract criticism from some.
It’s arguable that there’s a feeling of something missing from Fed Square… an attraction to truly liven the area up.
So how would you improve Fed Square? What’s wrong with it currently, and how do we go about fixing it?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
A better giant screen.
A few trees, maybe a fountain – and some seating! It’s a bit like a desert … Great potential but feels ‘unfinished’
JO you should read this – Fed Square is actually one of the most accessible sights in Melbourne – http://www.fedsquare.com/information/visiting-fed-square/accessibility/
Fresh food outlet when you want to eat at Fed Square, but don’t want to go to a restaurant.
I lived in Melbourne when this extremely UGLY mismatch of a building was built.
It is truly revolting and not within the street scape. There is a magnificent church on one corner and this ugly patchwork lump of concrete on the other!
NEVER liked it and never will, biggest mistake ever made in a beautiful city.
I don’t care how many visitors it gets, there is always somewhere to visit in Melbourne.
Hopefully one day it will fall down. YUK!!!!!!
I RATE IT A HUGE NEGATIVE ZERO
Class
A demolition order.
It’s ugly, an awkward shape and no fun at all to walk through with those giant steps or the floor at weird angles.
1) Some greenery – all that stone gives it a rather cold feel.
2) Some public benches or other seats that don’t belong to a restaurant/ cafe.
A big patch of grass
A couple of really big trees and urbanface’s idea was excellent.
Fed Sq could do with a really fantastic cafe (the food at Time Out is alright, the service is pretty bad, but at least the outdoor area is nice)…
Totally agreed re. the TV – it should be off unless it is screening something that has been publicly advertised like as OzOpera screening.
A proper Wi-Fi connection, not the token one. It is like the differences between Starbucks & McDonalds coffee and real coffee you can taste the difference when you realise.
Unless you stand in the middle of the quadrangle you get no coverage, there are no seats there and when you go into a cafe there is no signal.
I am an expert on these matters.
The top of the Melbourne Visitor Centre, which now looks like a lopped stump instead of the elegant glassy shard that was originally proposed. If the Melbourne Visitor Centre’s tower was re-instated to its original proposed height it would actually counterbalance the spire of the Cathedral opposite, and add to the dynamic nature of the intersection. Instead we have a sad little stump hiding an underground cavern for our Melbourne tourists.
A level surface to make events easiers, having to build platforms is a waste of money
It needs more life to it… open it up to local arts and crafts or performers. I’m not talking about using the screen here, but real people!! More colour too, how about some Christmas decorations?
Accessibility… I appreciate the beauty of the architecture and although it is generally physically accessible for people who use wheelchairs, it is not at all accessible for people who are vision impaired or are likely to become disorientated due to cognitive deficits. I was with my sister who has an intellectual disability and is visually impaired. On more than one occasion she walked straight into glass panels thinking they were doors, and found the whole space very disorientating and frustrating. She said she wouldn’t dare go there alone, despite being extremely independent in other community spaces.
An off switch for the TV screen!! I’m all in favour of public screenings; have watched the Oz Open there & lots of other things. But I was there with friends a few weeks ago trying to have a meal outdoors around 9.30pm, the square was practically deserted and there was something truly awful and loud playing on the screen which NO ONE was watching. It was like a cello being put through a dishwasher – so ghastly I rang Fed Square security asking them to turn it down. Next thing, there are 3 security guards in the square, looking for who rang up. I went up to one of them & said it was me, and could they turn the sound down, & they said the horrific music was on their “artistically approved playlist”, the subtext being that if we didn’t like it, we could push off. So we did. Hard luck for the restaurant we were at, as we’d have spent $60 easy on desserts if we’d stayed.
Soul
I LOVE urban face’s idea!!!!!! lets get a circus going! and some trees would be LOVELY too :D (also a better fire pit… ;) i do love the idea of the fire ;) )
Protestors! :P
fed sq is excellent. could do with some trees. but the surrounding streets need some attention… why are there so many lanes of traffic that cut off fed sq from flinders st station, swanston st, the forum…. crazy. can we do an ‘oxford circus’ at intersection of flinders/swanston?? or just piss off the cars.. please..?
It’s great – nothing wrong with it at all
2 OR 3 BIG TREES
A stuffed herd of elephants
There’s nothing wrong with it. Obvious attractions have short life spans and attract only a limited group of people. As it is the area is developing in a really nice organic fashion to serve as a meeting point for all sorts of people around all sorts of events. This is what will give it a long and lively life as a true hub of melbourne.