Big Names on Flinders Street Station Shortlist - Public Voting Now Open

The public is invited to vote for their favorite entry from a field of six finalists in the Flinders Street Station Design Competition, an international, high-profile architectural competition to rejuvenate and restore the historic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia. The shortlist sports some big names, including Pritzker Prize winners Zaha Hadid and the team of Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.

The Victorian Coalition Government, driving force behind the massive initiative, emphasizes community engagement as an important part of the competition and asks the public to rate all six entries in each of these four categories: Overall Design Merit, Transport Function, Cultural Heritage & Iconic Status, and Urban Design & Precinct Integration. Voting opened this week and is accessible via the competition website until Monday, August 5th, 2013. The Jury winner and the People’s Choice Award will be announced later that week on August 8th.

See below for the six shortlisted design entries.

Zaha Hadid Architecture & BVN Architecture

"Our proposal weaves together the history of the station with a potent new form creating a new public place for the future, resolving the functional challenges and celebrating the grandeur of travel." – see details & vote

Finalist: Zaha Hadid Architecture & BVN Architecture

HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron

"Our proposal respects the heritage, improves all aspects of the transport hub, and underscores its central civic nature with new cultural and public functions for all residents and visitors to Melbourne." – see details & vote

Finalist: HASSELL + Herzog & de Meuron

Ashton Raggatt McDougall

"Our scheme provides a new school in the iconic old building; brand new connections to platforms, city, and river; the riverwalk wanders over water and under a green roof ecology for plants and birds." – see details & vote

Finalist: Ashton Raggatt McDougall

Eduardo Velasquez + Manuel Pineda + Santiago Medina

"A courtyard within a station is an urban vision that respectfully embraces the site heritage whilst meeting the demands of a modern train station. It is a project for the people where a new urban forest will become the true heart of Melbourne." – see details & vote

Finalist: Eduardo Velasquez + Manuel Pineda + Santiago Medina

John Wardle Architects + Grimshaw

"The station is an ensemble, each part precisely considerate of its place in the city. Its theatrical nature is amplified by the stitching of city to river. Landscape, bridges and vaults are the threads." – see details & vote

Finalist: John Wardle Architects + Grimshaw

NH Architecture

"NH Architecture’s proposal connects Flinders Street Station to a new future through elements drawn from the memory of this city’s citizens…our collective Melbourne-ness." – see details & vote

Finalist: NH Architecture