8A_Modern+Architecture

Modern Architecture

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**Introduction**
During the late 20th century architecture was fundamentally being developed as fast as technology was. Modern architecture is a global phenomenon pulling influence from society and politics. These buildings are characterized as modern by the materials, construction and overall design aspect that make these buildings so influential. The modern buildings I have chosen for this topic are the Eureka Tower, the Rialto Towers and Federation Square. I chose these buildings because I thought they were a significant part of Melbourne's architecture and culture.

Eureka Tower[[image:8A_Architecture_Eureka_Tower.jpg width="331" height="371" align="right" caption="Eureka Tower 7 Riverside Quay SouthBank Melbourne    Source- wikimedia commons"]]
The Eureka Tower standing at 289 meters high is the fourth tallest residential building in the world with 91 floors and 80 of them are residential floor. The Eureka Tower was inspired by the Eureka Stockade which was an Australian rebellion that happened in 1854 at Eureka Lane in Balaratt. Its construction began in 2002 and finished on the 1st of June 2006, It was opened to the public on the 23 of May 2006. The building was designed by the architectural firm Fender Katsalidis. The developer of the building was Eureka Tower Pty Ltd. Also the Eureka Tower acts as a residential building as well as an observation deck. It’s the tallest building in the southern hemisphere that has a place to the public. You can enter a 4cm thick glass box that comes out 3m out the side of the tower for an exciting experience 300m high, with this there is an entry fee of about 8-10 dollars. The tower has windows of 24 carat gold on the top few floors. This was designed to represent significant and historical events in Australia's history. Most of the building is used for apartments. Although they are at a really expensive of about a few million an apartment i reckon its worth it. The building was build using reinforced concrete to hold up the its massive weight of the tall structure. The Eureka is seen as a major tourist attraction in Melbourne and Australia, many say its the highlight of Melbourne. This building is counted as a major architectural achievement in the eyes of many Australian architects.


 * Federation Square**

==== Melbourne's favorite meeting place, and second most popular tourist attraction in Australia with 8.41 million people in 2009. It has major sporting events live for the public to see and has a very interesting history to its construction. It was built on the site of the Princess Bridge Station and next to Flinders St Station and St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was designed in 1968 as Melbourne meeting place but that was a failure. In 1990 the State Victorian Government tried to re-construct Fed Square but there was a change in Government to Labor and then plans failed for a second time. There was a competition to see the best designs for federation square by Jeff Kennett. There were many entries from around the world it took quite some time until there was a winner. It was the Local Bates smart Architects in London who won with the best designs. The overall cost of all the remakes and designs was $467 million. The money came mainly from the government and many other sponsors. ====

[[image:8A_Architecture_fed.jpg align="left" caption="Federation Square Swanston St. Melbourne Source- Wikimedia commons"]] The Rialto Towers
From 1994 the Rialto Towers were Australia first Observation deck and the 23rd tallest building in the world. It has office spaces used on a daily basis by many Australians. Its also the second tallest concrete reinforced building in the southern hemisphere. Weight just over 228 thousand tonnes and being 240 m high with 66 floors it has made it mark at the heart of Melbourne. It was the tallest building in Melbourne until the Eureka topped it in 2006.

The Rialto observation deck was officially opened to the public in July 1994. It was 234m high with many lifts around the towers there were two main ones that took you to the observation deck to see and experience Melbourne in a way you'll never seen before. The first observation deck was on the south tower. After he Tower was renovated the observation deck was transformed to a restaurant in December 2009.

The Rialto was inspired by the Empire state building. Its construction began in 1982 and was finished in 1986, and it was officially opened until later in October 1986 a few months after it was finished. The architects and designers of the buildings were Gerard de Preu and Perrott Lyon Mathieson.