A “long-forgotten” corner of Melbourne’s Federation Square whose tenancies have sat empty for more than three years will be revamped and adapted for a new restaurant, cellar door and tasting centre, under a proposal submitted to the City of Melbourne.
The ground-floor tenancies on the southern side of the Yarra Building, facing the river, have struggled to attract patrons throughout their lifetime, due to its limited visibility from the rest of the square and Swanston Street, and poor connection to the riverfront. The struggle to activate this part of the square was often cited by proponents of the plan to demolish the Yarra Building and build an Apple store.
Now Macedon Ranges-based practice Agents of Architecture has drawn up plans for hospitality group Renascence Gippsland to open up the underutilized corner and turn it into a food and wine venue.
The new tenancy will include a restaurant with a rotating, regionally-sourced menu; an “experience centre” in which food and beverage samples will be combined with visual and sensory experiences; and a “wine library,” that promises to “move beyond the cellar door experience to provide an educative approach with a focus on climate and soil.” There will be a focus on food and wine from reginal Victoria, emphasizing Federation Square’s role as “a place for Victoria not just Melbourne.”
Agents of Architecture’s design will see the existing terrace adapted for use as a dining area, with a steel portal frame, fixed to the slab, carrying retractable awnings between the existing fixed canopy and the proposed wine library, which will sit within the undercroft space at the east end of the terrace.
Yarra Building ground floor tenancies adaptation by Agents of Architecture.
Image: Agents of Architecture
Within the footprint of the tenancies, the rhythm of the transparent curtain walls will be maintained but some panels that are currently fixed will be replaced with sliding doors.
Other proposed works within the terrace include: a new illuminated sign at the south-west corner of the tenancy; new soffit-mounted lighting; movable furnishings, such as a food cart, seating, chairs, umbrellas, planter boxes and a demountable bar; and a green wall facing the stairway.
Federation Square, designed by Lab Architecture Studio and Bates Smart and completed in 2002, was granted heritage protection in 2019 following the furore over the Apple store proposal.
In a heritage impact statement prepared for this latest proposal, Lovell Chen states that the reactivation of the riverside tenancies will not have a detrimental impact on the square’s heritage significance.
“The proposal does not involve the demolition of significant fabric or elements,” Lovell Chen states. “Further, there will be no threat to the dominance of the distinctive architectural language that defines Federation Square, with the new works being generally plain, simple and recessive.
“The works will also enable public use and access to a long-forgotten corner of Federation Square, in the process supporting the civic function of the place and facilitating connectivity with River Terrace.”
