Inside the square [Widescreen]

This is the story of two unknown London-based architects and their journey as winners in an international design competition in 1997, held by the then Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, to create a bold new civic and cultural centre for Melbourne. Unlike the Sydney Opera House which was a single entity, Federation Square was more about a multitude of uses - restaurants, cinemas, bars, public spaces and a last minute addition, the National Gallery of Victoria. In 1998, Don Bates and Peter Davidson of Lab Architecture Studio teamed up with local based firm Bates Smart on a project of such magnitude, controversy and conflict that it took six years and more than 5000 people to complete. The program follows the final year of construction in the lead up to the opening of Federation Square and contains interviews with many of those involved including Don Bates, Peter Davidson, Dimity Reed (Architecture writer and critic), Peter Seamer (CEO, Federation Square Management), Tony Cosma (Project Manager, Multiplex), and Stan Liacos (Marketing Manager, Federation Square Management). The radical design of the buildings caused constant conflict and dispute between the architects and the builders, likewise with the builders and sub-contractors and the fact that the project was started before the architects had even finished their designs also created major problems from budget blow-outs, revisions in design to compromise and extended delays in completion. A documentary presenting the human side of one of Australia’s biggest public projects since the Opera House. Narrated by Justin Murphy.