Abstract:
No city is a static and crystalline object that can be or was created by one-stroke. The continuous transformation of a city over time by its users followed by the growth of the city and technologies leads to failing of older historical building and quarters, because they are gradually losing connection to their renewing context and become inadequate for managing contemporary needs if not adaptable to changes. On the level of the city body, growth entails emptying on one hand and expanding on the other which ends up creating enormous waste of resources for people today, urging the need for demolishment of the out of date "past" as obstructers to more efficient high-tech developments. However, as architectures and cities are dynamic entities, therefore, it is important to understand the scale and direction of such a change. This means that to have an awareness of the past, present and the future. Preservation of our history is equally important in terms of stimulating today's development. Just as Elizabeth Vines said in a discussion about urban heritage conservation, "a sense of place is about handing on to the next generation your story, the one that you've inherited. It's about belonging."1 Erasing our past to make our future will cause social problems in the society simply because we will no longer have a sense of community, reference to time, or a sense of a place. However, pure preservation by polices and laws will eventually lead to infinite investment that has no return, on the other hand. What is lacked is nothing but connection and adaptation. The thesis confronts the debate which has been in existence for quite a long period of time between historicism and modernism, preservation and development, seeking for a way to reconnect the past to present and the future and pumping a new beat to the old heart, for it to become capable of managing its own survival in the unpredictable future. For the purpose of study, Flinders Street Railway Station of Melbourne is purposely chosen as an experimental site, as it represents a monumental iconic heritage building. Though it has always held great cultural value to its city, it is now losing connection to its developed 21st century context. It has in fact become a physical barrier and an isolated island in the very centre of the CBD blocking the city's greatest asset - the Yarra River. Luckily the government of Melbourne is aware of the issue and as a result is now hosting an international competition for a better plan of new developments for this historical site in the hope of making great uses of the unutilized space above the railway lines. The thesis takes the competition as an opportunity to explore and find a new way of design so that a system that is adaptable to changes can be set up, which hopefully will result in a more ideal situation where the historical value and significance of a site can be much appreciated while the community can still be provided with a new better functioning piece of architecture that is not intruding the sense of a place that the community has been cherishing.