While in discussion for up to two years, the Victorian Government has waited until just days before Christmas to announce Apple’s new store on Federation Square. A lot of Melburnians are not happy.

This week the Victorian Government announced plans to demolish the Yarra Building on Federation Square, to make way for a new flagship Apple store. It is understood that this move has been under consideration for up to two years, however there has been no public consultation on this major change to the city’s principle public square. Furthermore, it seems that the government’s decision to make an announcement in the final days before Christmas 2017 is strategically timed, to minimise public discussion on the impact of this high-profile retail presence within what is otherwise the state’s most important public space.

Given its timing, and the limited information that has been provided by government, Foreground asks a number of key urban thinkers, writers, architects and landscape architects to provide a short comment on this announcement. One of the principle architects of Federation Square, Donald Bates, co-director of Lab Architecture, has since written in support of the forthcoming Apple store.

Federation Square is home to Tanderrum, the opening of Melbourne Festival, a ceremony of the five clans of the Central Kulin Nation. 

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