Federation Square in Melbourne was designed by Lab Architecture Studio (Donald Bates and Peter Davidson), with Karres en Brands on landscape and Bates Smart as executive architects, for the Victorian State Government. The competition winner was announced in July 1997, and the square opened on October 26, 2002, later than the 2001 centenary it was meant to mark.
The style is Deconstructivist, with angular cranked geometries. Materials include reinforced concrete, glass, steel framing, zinc, and frosted glass and sandstone cladding in a pinwheel-tiled pattern. The site covers 7.9 acres (3.2 hectares), with three shards, an atrium, an underground labyrinth for passive cooling and a large public screen.
The original estimate was $110 to 150 million. The text gives a final cost of about $467 million, but a later section cites $450 million. It is open year-round, with about 9.7 million annual visitors.
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