Digital screens, cinema, street art earmarked for City Square shed

DIGITAL screens showing live-time construction of the Metro Rail tunnel under Melbourne could be installed on a giant shed at City Square to hide the worksite.

DIGITAL screens showing live-time construction of the Metro Rail tunnel under Melbourne could be installed on a giant shed at City Square to hide the worksite.

An outdoor cinema, vertical garden and White-night inspired projections have also been floated as ways to bring the Bunnings-style shed to life over the next five years.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said he was open to creative ideas for the space, after the Herald Sun revealed the 20-metre high acoustic structure would cover most of City Square during works to stop noise and dust spreading from the site.

“We can’t just have a big bulky shed in the middle of City Square,” he told 3AW on Thursday.

“People around the world have done this and there have been some quite interesting things I have seen.”

MELBOURNE’S CITY SQUARE TO SHUT FOR METRO RAIL WORKS

SOUTH YARRA NOT RULED OUT OF MELBOURNE METRO PLAN

An artist’s impression of a big shed over City Square during Metro rail works

An example of a facade that could be used for City Square during construction. Picture: Jackie Watts

An example of a facade that could be used for City Square during construction. Picture: Jackie Watts

Cr Doyle said digital screens with updates on the $10.9 billion tunnel project could be used to inform the community, as the Crossrail Tunnel project did while it was being built in London.

Vertical gardens or ‘green’ walls, an outdoor cinema and large scale street art commissioned by ‘professional’ artists could also be an option.

“You could look at street artists, but what you would try to do there is try and avoid tagging. Over a five-year period you might need to change (the art),” Cr Doyle said.

The Lord Mayor said council was looking at ways to remove graffiti in the high-traffic area.

“It needs to be cleaned off as soon as it goes on,” he said.

“There are things being developed now to make it much easier to remove that graffiti.”

City of Melbourne councillor Jackie Watts said masking the work site with creative hoardings, as she’d noticed on a recent Milan trip, could also be an alternative.

But Cr Watts said digital screens would allow for artwork to be changed in the area.

“If we are going through the digital path using technology, then the change (of artwork) is more possible,” she said.

“I’m open to anything that could be done. We have the expertise in Melbourne.”

An indication of how the Metro rail works will progress at City Square. Picture: Supplied

Melbourne Metro Rail Authority spokesman Reid Sexton said the authority would work with the City of Melbourne and other stakeholders on the appearance of the shed.

“We’ll be working closely with the City of Melbourne, local businesses and residents, and our contractors to find interesting and creative ways to promote the works and the area during construction,” he said.

DOYLE’S SHED: CREATIVE WAYS TO MAKE THE CITY SQUARE SHED ATTRACTIVE:

— Outdoor cinema with projections on the shed.

— Screens showing live streaming of construction work of Melbourne Metro tunnel.

— Digital screens with information and updates on building works.

— Artwork by a professional street artist.

— An interactive screen allowing photo uploads from the public.

— Vertical garden or ‘green wall’.

— Creative hoardings showing the building ‘as it would be’.

[e-mail]

@Kara_Irving