The Apple store is designed as an icon for Apple, not Melbourne

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This was published 5 years ago

Opinion

The Apple store is designed as an icon for Apple, not Melbourne

By Michael Rahill

When it was announced in 2017 that the Yarra Building at Federation Square was to be demolished to make way for an Apple store there was a lot of opposition to the redevelopment. It seemed in the aftermath of the controversy that the idea might have been defeated but unfortunately that is not the case: Federation Square management is now awaiting permission from Heritage Victoria to demolish the building; public submissions on the proposal closed on Wednesday, with more than 2000 reportedly received.

The Yarra Building at Federation Square.

The Yarra Building at Federation Square.Credit: Chris Hopkins

Fed Square has weathered a lot of negative comment from the time of the original design competition but is now warmly embraced by Melburnians and Australians in general. It has made a very significant contribution to the built environment and the cultural life of Melbourne. This was not easy to do and this achievement should not be underestimated or taken for granted. It has been a long time coming and now that it is here and largely successful it should not be tampered with in a way that will detract from its success.

The Our City, Our Square group protest against the proposed Apple Store at Federation Square.

The Our City, Our Square group protest against the proposed Apple Store at Federation Square.Credit: Chris Hopkins

One of the aims of the original Fed Square design competition was to address the long hoped-for desire for a building that would be an iconic symbol for Melbourne. The winning design, ironically, did not have an overtly distinctive shape in the manner of, for example, the Sydney Opera House, proposing instead an integrated mesh of buildings and spaces that formed a unique iconic urban environment; an urban landscape of forms, drawing on the laneway patterns and the colours of Melbourne. At the heart of the design was an urban public space with the buildings arranged around the periphery. The urban landscape of buildings around the urban public space forms an integrated whole.

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The completed design has delivered on the aims of the competition and provided, as a bonus, a public gathering space that Melbourne has responded to and taken to its heart. The complex at Fed Square has become a distinctly Melbourne icon.

The urban landscape of buildings at Fed Square relies for its potency on the fact that it forms a cohesive environment with the public space at its centre. If the Yarra Building is demolished and the Apple building is built, the new addition will inevitably stand out from this environment, undermining the current successful, unique, design approach. As the odd element out in the Fed Square environment it will stand apart from the rest and potentially take centre stage with the rest of the square’s buildings acting as the supporting cast. This design approach will give most prominence to the new building, as is likely the intent of the Apple design.

The Apple store is designed as an icon for Apple, not Melbourne. Similar Apple icons are proposed for around the world. The one in Melbourne, on this site won’t be about Melbourne. It will be about Apple. An Apple icon store in the iconic heart of Melbourne at Fed Square will appropriate the kudos that the current design has earned while diminishing that kudos. The location of the Apple icon in Fed Square is designed to support the Apple brand and not the square or the image of Melbourne. It will not contribute to the design, but instead, detract from it.

Apple is following the design path of other franchise or chain stores (McDonald's and KFC, for example) and wants to project its buildings and interiors first and foremost as part of its product and its image and that fact is why Apple has chosen the design path it has here.

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An artist's impression of the new Apple store.

An artist's impression of the new Apple store.

The issue is not about whether the Yarra Building was originally meant to be commercial or not. The issue is to have a tenant or tenants, commercial or otherwise, that can use the building within its existing significant context and that can contribute to that context rather than ignore it, syphon from it, diminish or destroy it. A commercial or other viable use must be able to find a sustainable home in the Yarra Building. I’m not against commercial use in the square if the balance is right. I believe the business and design intelligence is available to make the Yarra Building function sustainably and continue to contribute to the viability of Fed Square as a whole.

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Fed Square is a significant public resource. If necessary, it should be publicly funded so that the Fed Square management are not tempted to rely on money from outside groups such as Apple, whose intent and presence in the building proposed will be at odds with and detract from the Fed Square environment, physically and culturally.

I believe that the Fed Square design has more than delivered on the aims of providing an iconic image for Melbourne and a true public gathering place for the people of Melbourne. It is the city square long sought after. The design has made a very significant contribution to Melbourne’s built environment and, importantly, its culture, and this should be recognised and protected.

I urge Heritage Victoria to deny the permit application and the government to recognise the unique value of Fed Square, to protect it and nurture it sensitively, and to step in to prevent this proposal from going ahead.

Michael Rahill is an architect and Design Director at Rational Environmental Design Studio.

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