Melbourne Central
Melbourne Central is a large shopping, office, and public transport hub in the city of Melbourne, Australia. The complex includes the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre (currently being refurbished); the Melbourne Central railway station (a part of the City Loop underground railway and formerly called Museum); and the 211 m high office tower known to locals as the 'Batman building' due to its distinctive black colour and bat-like communications masts.
Contained underneath the shopping centre's massive glass cone sits the old shot tower which originally operated on the site. The tower was retained to become a focal-point of the centre.
The centre is currently being renovated. The design, by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall, will open the complex up with more natural light, new street-front shopping strips, and a new bubble-like footbridge to the adjacent Myer department store.
The original design of the shopping centre, office tower, and railway station was by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The shopping centre's original primary tenant was the only Victorian branch of the Daimaru department store, which closed in 2003 after a decade of unprofitable operation.
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