Flinders Street Station Design Competition Melbourne, Victoria Building Contest, Architect, Project

Flinders Street Station Design Competition

Architectural Contest in Victoria, Australia – shortlisted architects

Flinders St Station : main page with key images8 Aug 2013

Flinders Street Station Winners

Flinders Street Station Design Competition Winner

HASSELL + HERZOG & DE MEURON WIN FLINDERS STREET STATION COMPETITION

8 August 2013 – HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron have won the $1 million international design competition for the redevelopment of the historic Flinders Street Station in the city of Melbourne, Australia. The decision by the competition jury was unanimous.

The project will turn the station into a modern 21st century transport hub while retaining its best known heritage features and buildings. It transforms the site into a new civic precinct with a major public art gallery, a public plaza, an amphitheatre, marketplace, and a permanent home for arts and cultural festival organisations.

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Flinders Street Station is the hub of Melbourne’s fixed rail network with connections to other transport modes. It sits on a 4.68 hectare site on the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River, adjacent to the city’s Federation Square and important arts and cultural institutions. The HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron proposal pulls all these elements together

The Government of the Australian State of Victoria first announced the competition in November 2011. The final result was announced today by the Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine. The competition attracted 117 entries. The winning proposal was selected from six short-listed entries by a jury chaired by the Victorian Government Architect, Professor Geoffrey London.

The winning entry is the work of a global team comprising the renowned Swiss based architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron, HASSELL (Melbourne) and Purcell (London) as heritage consultants.

Jacques Herzog, Herzog & de Meuron said: “We are excited that our first project in Australia will be a truly public building with such a rich history and inspiring context.”

Ascan Mergenthaler, Herzog & de Meuron:
“Our proposal for the Flinders Street Station underscores the civic nature of a train station by complementing it with cultural and public functions rather than purely commercial activities.

“The weatherproof, articulated filigree vaulted roof-scape is a respectful yet dynamic interpretation and contextual response to the history, function and location of this very special place in the heart of Melbourne.”

Mark Loughnan, HASSELL:
“The winning proposal improves all aspects of the station transport hub and adjacent transport nodes with each of the project boundaries responding specifically to its own distinct context, affording both public function and connection across the site.

“Over the years, Flinders Street Station has been compromised by successive changes. Today it is a place that people generally choose to hurry through. Our design makes it a destination, with new buildings and features that will attract people to the precinct.

“The site was an important place in indigenous life and culture. The new art gallery will house indigenous art from Australia and the Pacific, reflecting that historical importance. The gallery will also provide a link between the arts institutions of St Kilda Road and Federation Square and the Immigration Museum and old Customs House on Flinders Street.

“After European settlement, Melbourne’s first official marketplace was near the site. We are bringing the marketplace back for the many thousands of new residents who moved into the centre of Melbourne in recent years. The public plaza and amphitheatre create new meeting places in the city.”

Michael Morrison, Purcell:
“It was critical that the proposal preserved Flinders Street as a working station, not a transport museum. The most familiar built fabric, the Flinders Street building and the corner entrance pavilion, will be unaltered, but carefully restored and brought back into public use,” he said. “They will be painted in the original colours. The new building integrates with them by reflecting the spirit of the original design.”

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Flinders St Station Design Competition – Winners

About Herzog & de Meuron
Herzog & de Meuron was established in 1978 by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Today Herzog & de Meuron is a partnership led by five Senior Partners: Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Christine Binswanger, Ascan Mergenthaler and Stefan Marbach. The practice has designed a wide range of projects from the small scale of a private home to the large scale of urban design. While many of their projects are highly recognised public facilities such as the Tate Modern in London (2000), and the development of its extension (2016), as well as the National Stadium in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, they have also completed several distinguished private projects including apartment buildings, offices and factories. The practice has been awarded numerous prizes including The Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2001, the “RIBA Royal Gold Medal“ (UK) and the “Praemium Imperiale“ (Japan), both in 2007. Herzog & de Meuron is currently working on projects across Europe, North and South America and Asia. The firm’s main office is in Basel with additional offices in Hamburg, London, Madrid, New York and Hong Kong. www.herzogdemeuron.com
Herzog & de Meuron

About HASSELL
HASSELL is an international design practice with its origins in Australia. It operates five studios in Australia, five in China, two in Southeast Asia and two in the United Kingdom. The collaborative practice model at HASSELL sees architects, interior designers, landscape architects, planners and urban designers working together to deliver major city changing projects. www.hassellstudio.com
HASSELL

About Purcell
Purcell brings together architects, heritage consultants and surveyors who share a passion for the thoughtfully designed evolution of buildings, places and communities. It operates 13 studios in the United Kingdom and one in Hong Kong. www.purcelluk.com
Purcell

About the HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron design collaboration
HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron formed a global team for the Flinders Street Station competition together with Purcell, London as heritage consultant.

The collaboration combines wide international perspective and experience with deep local knowledge of Melbourne and comprehensive experience in the development and revitalisation of historic buildings. While sharing a common spirit of innovation and responsiveness, each team member also contributes specific expertise. Herzog & de Meuron is a recognised leader in urban cultural vitalisation, public spaces and the revitalisation of historic buildings. Its work can be seen in landmark projects such as the Tate Modern in London and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. HASSELL brings extensive experience on complex infrastructure and transport projects in Australia, China and Southeast Asia. It has been in practice in Melbourne since 1948 and has a detailed understanding of the city’s history, culture and civic context. Purcell provides thoughtful and profound expertise as heritage architects. It has worked on many transport projects, including the relocation and restoration of a Victorian era water-tower as part of London’s St Pancras station redevelopment.

Flinders Street Station Design Competition Melbourne images / information from Victoria Government

Flinders Street Station Design Competition : further information

Background on the Flinders Street Station Design Competition

Flinders Street Station Competition

Location: Flinders St Station, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia