FLINDERS STATION MELBOURNE


TIME TO REFRESH!

Flinders Station, Melbourne. International architectural competition 2012.

Architectural intervention and concept sketches
by Guillermo Aranda-Mena (September 2012)

Competition entry with Alexander Peña de Leon - thanks for getting me back on track Alex!


Flinders Street/Swanston Street entrance, ca. 1900-1914 (SLV)
"Through this competition, the Victorian Government seeks the best ideas from across Australia and around the world to re-energise the station and its surrounds, preserve its heritage and improve transport functions"
Major Projects Victoria

An ambitious parti [par-TEE] deriving from matters beyond mere architecture   

Architecture begins with and idea: "Experiential Flinders"

Integrated Transport Systems

Connection to the Yarra: a miss-opportunity in Federation Sq.





"But oh oh, won't you meet me 
Under the clocks, we'll go walking by the river 
Through the mud and through the slime
Are you so surprised,
That I am here, full of cheer
In this fair city, in the Winter time
In the Winter time, in the Winter time
In the Winter time, brrr!" 
 Song: Under The Clocks by Melbourne band, WPA 


Roofing Concept Typology: river, organic, open-close, veggie market. Collage with images from Herzog&DeMeuron, Nicholas Grimshaw, Benedetta Tagliabue, Shigeru Ban and Zaha Hadid. 



Heinz Isler, ‘New Shapes for Shells’, 1959:
At the First Congress of the
International Association for Shell
Structures (IASS) in Madrid in
1959, Isler presented his paper
‘New Shapes for Shells’, which
included an illustration of 39
playful sketched shapes for shells,
with ‘etc.’ suggesting in finite
variations






Access and pedestrian zones and links - above - ground level and underground. Including underground to: City Square (connecting with future Metro Stop), Federation Square and South River Bank. Above ground over Flinders Street landing on Elizabeth (connecting with supper tram stop) and De-Graves pedestrian street.   

The South-East elevation of Flinders to "open-up" to an open space. Connecting with the Yarra and Federations Square. A veggie and flowers market is to reinvigorate a mediterranean feel of Melbourne. 


Only TRAM and CYCLISTS allowed along the street strip facing Federations Square. A veggies market on the south side is to re-invigorate life and activities of the station and the connection to the Yarra.  The character of this side is to maintain the heritage of Flinders and re-connecting with other markets such as the Victoria Market or South Melbourne Market.





Urban farm: concept collage areas at the sight of Flinders (west zone). 
Connecting north and south of the station with bridges - the concept is extending the Travelers bridge coming from the south through the second level of the station and emerging out north of the station landing on Degraves Street - preserving its European culinary character.
A balance of roofed and open spaces enhancing the connection with the Yarra and public experience.
Banana Alley to become gourmet restaurants, cooking schools and food stalls.   
Urban playground: concept collage playground areas at the sight of Flinders (west zone).
Collage reference: First-Class Marks Man from the first Ned Kelly series by Sydney Nolan (1946)


The above images were early concepts for the international competition of Flinders Street Station. Melbourne. September 2012.

  • Flinders a reassembly of Melbourne as the Australian multi-cultural city. 
  • Flinders a response to intagrated transportation needs.
  • Flinders an tranformation to the future preserving its heritage.
  • Flinders as the connector to Melbourne and its people with park land, playgrounds, farmer markets and public areas.
  • Flinders as a 5-star hotel. The historical building where the draft-boards of railway engineers once sat is to become a boutique hotel uplifting Flidners Street into a leafy boulevard such as Collins Street.
  • Flinders as a world culinary experience from food stalls to slow-cooking dining. Cooking schools and delicatessen shops by the Banana Alley.
  • Flinders as rethinking the station of the XXI Century. It is to provide a ripple effect into a sustainable city.  
FLINDERS IN THE YEAR 2046 - AN STATION TO ITS CITY!

Architectural references:
The above concept and collage work includes reference to the work of
Zaha Hadid (The Circle competition, Zurich), Nicholas Grimshaw (Southern Cross Station, Melbourne), Benedetta Tagliabue (Sta Katarina market, Barcelona), Shigeru Ban (Pompidum Centre in Metz), Asymtote Architecture (Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi) and Herzog & De Meuron (Allianz-Arena, München).

Sketches references:
Frederick. M. "101 Things I Learned in Architecture School" Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT Press 2007
Jacobs, A. B. "Great Streets" Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT Press 1995

Photo references:
Flinders Street Station (historical images and fine art):
Archive of the State Library of Victoria (SLV)
and Flinders by Peter Glenane


Guillermo Aranda-Mena©2012