Melbourne landmarks

Melbourne is a city shaped by architecturally and culturally significant landmarks. Whether you’re on the hunt for iconic sites to see in person, or chasing knowledge around the structures that have influenced the development of Melbourne’s central business district, these attractions are not to be missed. 

Federation Square

Architects: London-based, Lab Architecture Studio and Melbourne-based, Bates Smart

In 1996 the Victorian Government held an international competition to design Melbourne’s new civic space, Federation Square. With a budget of $450 million, a new precinct (38,000 square metres in size) was built above the city’s major transport hub. The square is comprised of a series of interlocking and cascading spaces that open toward surrounding city streets at sharp angles. The distinctive look is crafted from sandstone, zinc and glass cladding which form triangular pinwheel grids that create a unified appearance when viewed from afar. While controversial at first, the bold architectural space has since become one of Melbourne’s most visited landmarks.

Southern Cross Station

Architects: Grimshaw Global and Jackson Architecture

The main feature of Southern Cross Station, which spans an entire city block, is its signature wave-like roof. The roof links Docklands to the city centre with its visual bridge-like aesthetic, while also serving a number of environmental purposes. The spectacular design also showcases a glass street frontage and pod-like interior which is home to retail stores, administrative offices, and of course, metro and regional railway lines. 

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC)

Architects: Woods Bagot in collaboration with NH Architecture

The purpose of MCEC’s visual aesthetic is to evoke Melbourne’s artistic spirit. The spacious venue is located along the Yarra River in Southbank and features a cantilevering entry canopy. Inside, the public foyer is encased in floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Yarra and houses a fan-shaped, 5,000 seat auditorium which is clad in timber to represent the city’s rich maritime history, along with a plethora of other meeting  and event spaces. 

Barak Building

Architects: Ashton Raggat McDougall (ARM Architecture)

The Barak Building is a cultural touchstone of Melbourne. ARM Architecture put an apartment building on the map by creating a portrait of the last traditional Ngurungaeuta (Elder) of the Wurrundjeri-willam people, William Barak, on the building’s southern façade. The architects brilliantly used shadows created in negative spaces between white panels and black balcony slabs to bring a photograph of William Barak to life. The building now stands tall in recognition of the history and presence of Traditional Land Owners in Melbourne and is best viewed from the Shrine of Remembrance. 

Melbourne Exhibition Building

Architects: Designed by Joseph Reed

Set in the picturesque Carlton Gardens, the Royal Exhibition Building was constructed as part of the international exhibition movement, intended to house the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880 and the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition in 1888.

The building is made of brick, timber, slate and steel and draws inspiration from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles. Notable internal features include the great hall and ornate paintings and murals throughout. 

Flinders Street Station

Architects: James Fawcett and H. P. C. Ashworth

Melbourne’s iconic Flinders Street Station and its ornate ballroom are a time capsule of a decadent history. The station opened in 1854 and the ballroom was later designed in 1899. The station has had a tumultuous history, with the Melbourne landmark slated for demolition in the early 1960s and the grandiose ballroom left abandoned and dilapidated for many years, until recently reopening as a unique space for art installations. The station’s exterior has a striking presence with an Edwardian Baroque architectural style which was lovingly restored in the 2010s and included enhanced LED lighting design to illuminate the building’s ornate structure at night. 

Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Architects: Barry Patten

The Sidney Myer Music Bowl first opened in 1959, during a time of great optimism in Melbourne, after the success of the Olympics and the development of what is now the National Gallery of Victoria and the Arts Precinct underway. The brainchild of Harold Desbrowe-Annear, the bowl was constructed as part of a plan to make the King’s Domain the cultural heart of the city. The open-air auditorium wasn’t designed until some 30 years later, when a sound shell fabricated from aluminium faced plywood sandwich panels was built, suspended between a framework of steel wire ropes. 

By 1998 the bowl was in need of refurbishment. Gregory Bass Architects were commissioned to complete the refurb. At a glance, the design appears unaltered but upon closer inspection, new landscape architecture, an updated concrete platform, new seating, wider aisles and elegant textured concrete retaining walls have been added. The main roof was also replaced with enhanced cladding of aluminium and plywood and painted glass was replaced with clear glass. 

AAMI Park

Architects: Phillip Cox of Cox Architecture 

In 2010, AAMI Park, Melbourne’s first rectangular stadium was finished, measuring 55,480 square metres with a seating capacity of over 30,000. The cutting-edge bio frame design features a geodesic dome roof which covers the arena’s seating area while still allowing light through to the pitch. This design meant the stadium was built with 50 percent less steal than roofs for similar sized stadiums. The roof is also equipped with thousands of exterior LED lights programmed to display limitless colours and patterns for events. 

Orica House (ICI House)

Architects: Bates, Smart & McCutcheon

Orica House, originally known as ICI House was completed in 1958 and is considered Australia’s first skyscraper. Seemingly unassuming in Melbourne’s now cluttered skyline, the building was the first of its kind to break Melbourne’s height restrictions, while its fully-glazed curtain wall aesthetic was considered refined and revolutionary in the post-war era.