| | Melbourne Central was never the city’s main train station, nor was it an architectural masterpiece, or even a successful retail venture. It played second fiddle to the main Flinders Street Station, housed a poorly integrated shopping precinct, and its few crowning glories – namely the 19th Century Shot Tower encased in a splendid Louvre-esque glass pyramid – were underplayed by an ugly concrete exterior. A recent facelift, however, has taken on the challenge of rewriting past shortcomings; rejuvinating the complex much like a Hollywood star reinvents a flagging career with a new ‘image’ and a few well-chosen film and media appearances.
The challenge was handed to architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall in 2001, when they won the refurbishment tender for tenants Lend Lease in an international design competition. With 60,000m2 of retail space, the historic Shot Tower, iconic glass cone, and bustling commuter train station below, total demolition was never going to be an option, so the designers set about formulating a facelift of sorts - a glorious new façade behind which to hide the signs of an ageing utility and show off some grand new plans.
ARM’s first target was to find something within the existing structure upon which to hang the new face of Melbourne Central. The most striking features have been retained. The 19th century brickwork of the Shot Tower – one-time lead-shot factory and Melbourne’s tallest building; now home to a permanent next-generation history museum – remains entombed in the stunning glass cone of the 1983 design. This not only creates a bond with the classic colonial architecture of Melbourne’s city streets, but also lets in an immense amount of natural light and fixes the structure permanently on the city skyline. The interior, too has had a total makeover: the out-of-date attempt at ‘high-end’ replaced by common yet modern timber veneers, dark paint, great swathes of sheer glass and black-and-white marble. The result is surprisingly successful: an ageing, haughty, out-of-work shopping centre now effortlessly wears the sleek, chic lines of a shopping precinct half its age.
And the new Melbourne Central is not without its own dashes of panache: the exterior glazework is highlighted by glossy bright red ‘blobs’ and text installations, while inside, ARM’s signature motif - the barcode - makes a stylized appearance in plywood and black matte paint on the internal walkways and ceiling panels. The footbridge over the laneway is encased in an organic eruption of inflated ETFE plastic bubbles; and the concrete walls on Latrobe Street, while still managing to survive the renovation, have been randomly smattered with bright polkadots. Strategy number one complete: a new look for an old city stalwart.
The second design goal was to create a sense of accessibility that would finally link Melbourne Central to its patrons and surroundings. Like any metropolitan train station, it is fed by endless thousands of commuters and visitors every day, most of whom, until ARM took charge, never made it away from the platform and into the shops and cafes above.
In what seems to be a fundamental error of judgment, the original Melbourne Central – designed in 1983 by Kisho Kurokawa in association with Bates Smart + McCutcheon and Hassel – made no attempt to integrate or even connect the shopping precinct with the busy train station below or the street outside. Surprisingly closed off from the surrounding city shopping district by an imposing concrete edifice and adjoining corporate skyscaper, the design relied entirely on the Daimaru department store to lure potential shoppers within – a plan that ultimately failed when the Daimaru dynasty came to an end in 2002. It comes as no surprise then, given the success of other major Australian rail-retail collaborations (think Sydney’s sprawling Town Hall/QVB and the Bondi Junction Westfield megalith) that high on ARM’s agenda was a means of connecting the masses of potential customers on the underground trains with the multitude of potential sales above.
The result is a matrix of ‘laneways’, which facilitate the unimpeded circulation of pedestrians in, out and around the station and its various shopping and recreational levels. The closed box is broken open, and endless conveniences now line the bright, airy promenades: fresh food markets, cafes, restaurants, homewares stores, fashion, recreation facilities, and an 11-screen cinema complex. Passengers, patrons and pedestrians no longer need search high and low for an entryway or exit point. Where it was once insular, the building is now fully interconnected, so that while commuters must now pass through retail zones in order to access the other levels, there are greatly increased avenues for access and egress.
ARM, like any good Hollywood manager, recognised what features could and should be resurrected – albeit with a little surface work – and transformed them into something new and attractive. The stores and pathways ostensibly all branch out along a central artery which runs the entire length of the building, abutting Myer – which fills the ‘major department store’ role left empty by Daimaru – at the far end. This central line was an existing feature, intentionally designed to be confusing so as to trap disorientated shoppers into the dark web of shops within. ARM undertook detailed analysis of people movements, circulation and arrival and departure patterns before the decision was made to turn it into an inviting, open accessway, a decision that proved crucial to the success of key goal number two: accessible, logical integration of rail and retail.
Where once there was an understated rail station, a disjointed terminus bypassed on the way from A to B, Melbourne Central is now a destination in its own right, and a feature of the Melbourne cityscape.+ Top. The new interior has managed to retain the best existing features while adding a modern retail centre with individual style. Bright contemporary colour highlights are set off against the brickwork tower and an interpretation of Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’. Second. Putting a new slant on what was an imposing concrete facade, the new design features a playful polka-dot motif facing onto Latrobe Street. Third. Where Melbourne Central was once closed and uninviting from the streetfront, it is now a haven of open glass and bright, happy colour. Fourth. Eatery and retail promenades have direct access to natural light from the glass roofing above. The centre is now a bustling recreational site as well as a busy transit point. Bottom. The laneway is bridged by a footway enclosed by internally lit EFTE bubbles, in striking juxtaposition to the classic Melbourne architecture and towering offices nearby. Photographer: John Gollings, Peter Bennett
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