This 1.6 km Underground Labyrinth Has an Unusual Purpose

Under Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne is a 1.6km maze: here’s why. | Go to squarespace.co... to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
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Thanks to Federation Square for the invite, and the graphics; thanks to Esme James for filming - www.esmeljames...
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Unknown Melbourne is a series exploring the weird and wonderful parts of the city.
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[@JeenRsHeart]

More surprising than the labyrinth under Fed Square is the fact that "coolth" is a real word.

[@jemxs]

You could say the it's really cooth that it is!

[@joseluismanzana1606]

Mike Tyson surprised that he's been using a correct word all along

[@aaronleverton4221]

@Nospater I discovered it thanks to Sting and the Police, except that I wasn't sure it was a real word, more like a pop-singer inventing something that fit. Given that Sting was a teacher, I should have known at the time. Now that I have found you In the coolth of your evening smile In the shade of your parasol And your love flows through me 'Though I drink at your pool I burn for you Depending upon my mood I'm not sure whether I prefer The Police's I Burn for You or INXS's Burn for You.

[@hughcaldwell1034]

Yeah, it definitely sounds like incorrect over-regularisation. Or the sort of thing I'd make up and insist is real to annoy people, only to find out I's right all along.

[@GGrev]

Don't blame you you summer child.

[@shannonpincombe8485]

You should do a video about the many under-city passageways in the Melbourne CBD. There are so many subterranean areas I walk over regularly which I would love to know about. Loved this vid!!!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks Shannon - it’s a neat idea.

[@gslim7337]

Thank you Julian, that system is amazing. It is good to see that the designers and planners didn't just go for "the look" aspect but also considered how to take advantage of their close proximity to the Yarra. Big shout out to Fed Square management too for allowing you to access and film the labyrinth

[@JulianOShea]

Agreed - was very cool to visit this one.

[@seannybdizzle]

Dude, I worked in and around fed for a couple years. I went through all the underground loading areas and even into the security room itself but never knew about the lab. Im genuinely impressed. Excellent video mate.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Sean! This one might have actually been Unknown Melbourne…

[@rachellereeve494]

Julian is like a really cool geography teacher. He packs so much information into each succinct, superbly delivered video.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Rachelle!

[@m1000-n8w]

He's also much less anti-vax and fundamentalist Christian than my geography teacher was

[@sixstringedthing]

I love learning about these kind of large-scale HVAC solutions, since remaining at a constant comfortable temperature is a feature we often take for granted in large public work/recreation spaces but the engineering behind these solutions is often pretty amazing. I recently had a chance to explore a bit of the fire suppression plant and storage tanks at the warehouse site where I work, some pretty cool engineering in these largely hidden systems too!

[@maxnewts]

My theory is they designed it this way after being inspired by the heat sync metal plate and fan ductwork’s on most modern computers, purposely keeping the heat lower and acting almost like a heat dissipation battery, allowing for comfortable street life above ground. Within busy cities like Melbourne where there often lots of skyscrapers or tall buildings, and especially ones like New York City with lots of car dependency in its urban planning, it’s common to see the downtown areas contain a higher temperature where the taller buildings create a biome or bubble effect on the wind around them, consequently heating them up. The other benefits this gives is lowered local building running costs being lowered due to any heating system being built near to there being entirely arranged as something to make up a very small desired temperature gap, because of the thermal battery underneath. This can sometimes be further enhanced by buildings using glass at certain angles (like the famous walkie-talkie building in london, having an ultraviolet ray problem). To combat this good methods to keep ground temperature in a comfortable position would be to plant lots of trees and diverse greenery, so any excess rainwater or ground surface temperature can be lowered slightly, and purposely choosing to limit the angle or height of buildings unless thermal shield barrier plating can be placed over the outside in urban planning code. With warehouses like the ones you mentioned, a good method to perhaps suggest is a rooftop filled with mosses or different types of grassy turfing to simultaneously provide fresh drinking water, natural air conditioning, and a small local gas neutralisation system to renew the air quality and lower carbon emissions. Hope this helps with anything :)

[@somewhatsomething4882]

@@maxnewts oh yes now I can pretend to be a much more educated wanker, and dazzle people with my newfound knowledge of things no one cares about unless it's their job.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I never thought HVAC design could be this interesting!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Patrick! - HVAC content is best content.

[@jackviner5181]

As a Brisbane-ite who loves Melbourne, your channel really brings me back to being in the city and allows me to learn some super interesting facts along the way. Love your content and keep up the great work!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Jack! Will have to head up and make some Brissy content at some stage.

[@jackviner5181]

@@JulianOShea Brisbane has some great history and some cool places so you wouldn’t be short of any ideas here!

[@becsterbrisbane6275]

Ahhh, we so desperately need this labyrinth system under King George Square- I've been known to cook my breakfast directly on it in the height of summer, haha! Shame the underground space has been taken up by the Busway.

[@SezShares]

Fascinating! So glad you’re getting such a name for yourself, organisations are reaching out to share the interesting tidbits directly.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks! Yep - it is cool to get the chance to see interesting new places for sure.

[@Teraplexor1]

Interesting, never knew Melbourne had anything like this 😮

[@Rzerac]

Melbourne has a plethora of things like this! :D

[@isshun2292]

It's great to not seeing you back uploading content but getting the recognition you deserve. Way to go!!!

[@jazzcat123]

I've worked at Fed Square for many years. Never had an excuse to go in there. Now I don't have to! Great content. Keep it up.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, mate

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Awesome. Thank you for covering this. I had no idea this existed at the square and this sort cooling existed. Looking forward to the next video. Keep up the good work.

[@malicemadden]

I love having an Aussie Tom Scott in Melbourne 🥰

[@kashiichan]

I'd love to see a collab between them

[@handyandyaus]

This is usually one of the buildings open as part of Open House Melbourne, which this year will be held on 30 + 31 July. Fed Square is a pre-booked space with the program being released on 30 June.

[@JulianOShea]

Yep - Great event

[@urbanomedia6882]

Love your videos Julian. Watching these videos you post make me really appreciate the city I live in so much more. Thank you for making genuinely interesting content.

[@JulianOShea]

Glad you like them!

[@CoolAsFreya]

I knew Fed Square was built on a deck above the Flinders Street railway lines, but I had no idea there was a whole floor and all this stuff under the surface! I have however noticed the brick vents on Old Batman Ave Walk, I just assumed they were for the building above, not the whole atrium! Also the wooden slats in the atrium as vents are genius!

[@seannybdizzle]

Makes it way cooler knowing what they're for huh.

[@andrewwmitchell]

Love that aitrium and facintateed to learn about the eco-friendly heating and cooling. Thanks.

[@Horizontalvertigo]

Hunh, that's a really cool bit of kit I didn't know about. Looking at the thumbnail, I was expecting to hear about the maze of tunnels beneath Melbourne for accessing utilities and access to the metro. Seeing the Atrium these days just reminds me that the bastards in charge kicked out the great book market that was held there on Sundays because it wasn't profitable enough, and then they haven't done anything interesting with the space since smh

[@grantcwills]

That is so cool!! It is a pretty smart cooling solution

[@giraton1]

I noticed that brick vent structure when I was much younger and wondered what was behind it. Young me would have been blown away if you said a labyrinth was behind it.

[@gsmerjxa]

I love this channel! Essentially Tom Scott, but exclusively for Australia - which is absolutely AMAZING!!

[@Jack-kz4nb]

Been a while since you uploaded looks like you’ve hit a BOOM in subs. Been here since 10k! Love t see you have grown since then!

[@JulianOShea]

Cheers, Jack. Great to see an early adopter. More vids on their way.

[@JasonKangSW]

Another fantastic and insightful video about our beautiful city! Well done and keep it up, Julian!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Jason! - Glad you enjoyed it. More on their way…

[@beaksofeagles]

There are tunnels and vaults under the Treasury Buildings which are pretty "cool" too. There are railway tracks where the wagons laden with gold would be wheeled around.....amazing!

[@baystated]

Melbourne is so cool. And now we know why! Thanks again, Julian!

[@alexandersarah245]

Here is me, with the sniffles watching the Melbourne series and loving it.

[@othreezed]

Thanks for another video Julian and thanks for adding "coolth" to my vocabulary!

[@JulianOShea]

My pleasure!

[@JasonInMelbourne]

Another fascinating video, Julian. Love your work

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Jason!

[@AntonWongVideo]

wow, that's some...COOL ingenuity!

[@carlramirez6339]

Very cool, more places should do this.

[@richter4446]

As a Melburnian, would love to go down there if they ever open to public haha

[@JulianOShea]

They’ve opened it as part of Open House in the past - check it out then.

[@handyandyaus]

@@JulianOShea This years program is released on 30 June.

[@AlmostAnimixers]

Very cool that places are now reaching out to you for video content.

[@JulianOShea]

Sure is!

[@lukes790]

Shows how completely we take cleaver design for granted in buildings like Federation Square. Another great Melbourne icon.

[@JulianOShea]

Indeed. Thanks, Luke!

[@entropyachieved750]

Was not what I expected but glad I watched. Hello from Newcastle

[@JulianOShea]

Hello, Newcastle! - Glad you enjoyed.

[@AngryAussie]

That's really trippy. No idea that was under my feet.

[@mcduffchannel]

Quite the Tom Scott moment! no idea that was there!

[@Techno-Universal]

The system would also help to remove dust from visitors when running so the indoor spaces don’t need to be vacuumed as frequently! :)

[@longboardfella5306]

how amazing - I live right next to it and never knew! Thanks Julian for all your gems!

[@JulianOShea]

Cheers Paul!

[@astrixistheman]

Very cool. I did notice the strange system next to the river and the stairs as thats where i usaly eat some snacs. And i rember the hot air coming out that floor vent at the center of the atreum. We used to do city experance every week and that was the main meeting spot. so wed all sit on the vent during winter. Had no clue it was such a cool system though

[@michaelhusada]

I always wondered about the gappy brick wall on the river-side of Fed Square was. Thanks for this great video!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Michael!

[@enfortro]

Wow, simply wow. Thanks Julian. Love your Melbourne videos.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks mate!

[@WatiDoFoo]

Great content, mate. Really enjoy learning about things local to me. Cheers.

[@natalielorenz7543]

Wow I learnt a lot here today! Thanks for the bonus new word - “coolth” 😎

[@woz_in_oz]

Fascinating, now I’ll look out for it

[@StevieCooper]

I’d love to see the hidden underground of Melbourne. I’m sure most of it is just boring cellars and storage but I wonder what else there is. St V’s has tunnels

[@handyandyaus]

As part of the 2022 Open House Melbourne program Fed Square 'behind the scenes' tours will run on Saturday 30 July. Tours run 10am, 11.30am, 1.15pm & 2.45pm. Running 75 minutes in groups of 15 people. Only 15 people per tour, please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Tour participants to meet in front of the stage in the Main Square approx 10 minutes before the scheduled tour time. These are always incredibly popular. Get there early!

[@BatCaveOz]

There is another labyrinth nearby... the lavatories at Riverland Bar... rubber boots are recommended.

[@Lucas-sx6dh]

I always seem to miss going here during Open House. Thanks for showing us around!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks for watching!

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@ZoranAUS]

Finally get to see the maze, thank you! I always miss the public viewings (pre covid)

[@JulianOShea]

I’ve also missed it in the past. Was great to visit!

[@jdillon8360]

Never knew about this! Thanks.

[@andrewbowler5670]

They have a similar system (albeit far smaller) at Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville.

[@johnhome5872]

Surprising facts about Melbourne;well done 😎

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, John

[@hypercomms2001]

Let's hope at some stage in the future they cover over the rest of the Jolimont Road yard so it too can be used for useful buildings and other useful space....

[@JulianOShea]

There is some real potential there. What would you like to see?

[@hypercomms2001]

@@JulianOShea Covering the rail yards to Spring Sreet, and perhaps even down to the MCG. As for uses for the new space... perhaps more sporting facilities, more hosuing accomodation, maybe green spaces...

[@TheGreatRoja]

I imagine the Minotaurs down there are all qualified HVAC technicians

[@JulianOShea]

Excellent comment.

[@StrangerInAustralia]

Yet another amazing video, Julian. But why 480p?

[@JulianOShea]

Dunno. Something went wrong. There will be sackings.

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Thank you for the video!

[@Michael_Bancroft]

I used to work in the dept. of Premier and Cabinet, and got to walk through that underground area before Fed Square opened. It's hard to show on video just how vase the space is.

[@MrPropanePete]

I had no idea this was under Fed Square. Great series of videos.

[@ЮрийАнанас-э5б]

Great video once again Julian, keep it up!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, mate!

[@doomakarn]

Why didn't you show the wall of skulls, famously held in the Federation Square labyrinth?

[@matthewlloyd3255]

Plenty of sites around Melbourne have similar underground tunnels and such. When I was at Monash University almost 30 years ago I accidentally took way too many flights of steps down beneath the Chemistry department - there's some neat tunnels around and about there too.

[@vidyabuzz]

Julian makes me proud to me a Melburnian

[@JulianOShea]

Doing my part!

[@ultimobile]

feel that Mal burn ... jus' kidding - I lived there for 5 years and loved it ...

[@tcpnetworks]

good video! Do you have a 1080P version?

[@alexandersarah245]

Just to add, I think some ghost/haunted stories of Melbourne would be cool. The Clarkfield hotel. And on a somber note - would love to know more about the details of what's under the Queen Victoria Market, I've heard it's a burial ground.

[@clairewright8153]

I’d love to see how much of the old princess bridge station is left. You used to be able to walk from princess bridge station right down to the corner of Flinders st and Elizabeth st.

[@caelansmith]

Another awesome video about Melbourne!

[@JulianOShea]

Cheers, Caelan!

[@michaelheliotis5279]

When you've made so many videos about all the nifty places in Australia that all the other nifty places in Australia personally reach out and want you to make a video so they're not the only ones left out. 😂😂😂

[@JustinRichardsonProducer]

Another awesome video. Was that you on ABC the other day breaking Guinness World Record on a quad peddle cycle? Great stuff mate!

[@cc.cinder5136]

oh hell yeah can't wait to use coolth from now

[@bradford2211]

0:50 Slam! Welcome to the dungeon.

[@arandomu]

When u get to watch the next Julian O'Shea video before it even gets processed for 1080p 😤

[@gomezgomezian3236]

Taking the air off the top of the Yarra is very clever. But there is the potential for even more clever uses. Bodies of water (the larger the better) are terrific heat-sinks. There are a couple of buildings on the edge of Sydney Harbour that run sealed pipes from their HVAC systems in loops out into the edge of the harbour, to stabilise the temperature of their contents. (Look at your nightly weather reports. While the daily/nightly temperatures vary wildly, the ocean temperature is amazing constant ... as is the temperature in deep caves or mines). But even more bizarre, using heat exchangers to get warmth or coolth, from raw sewage running around a city. (I think Melbourne did this? They were certainly trying to get approval quite a number of years ago). Sustainability really benefits from thinking way, way 'outside the box'.

[@mastersingleton]

This is an ingenious feat of engineering to reduce the heat island effect of Federation Square.

[@reeffeeder]

That was amazing, I would never have known

[@tikigod7089]

Great work Julian

[@ric_man]

Brilliant video. The area has been greatly improved since it had the SEC Victoria building on it.

[@JulianOShea]

Cheers!

[@handyandyaus]

The SEC building is actually still standing at it's original location opposite Flinders St Station. The Gas & Fuel buildings were the ones demolished for Fed Square.

[@ric_man]

@@handyandyaus Got it. 👍I thought it was the Electricity department in there. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_Gate_Towers

[@jasongarufi8187]

Thanks for another great video Julian

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, Jason!

[@chickennoodle6620]

Good to hear from you at the CoM Future Committee meeting the other day!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, mate. Lots of love for making the city more sustainable and cycle friendly.

[@leftovercrass5210]

That was extremely cool, I cannot wait to tell my country mates Federation square has air conditioning

[@JamesLamb]

Seems like in the winter it would be a bit on the cool side - a cave is naturally cool, but if you're not moving around, you might want a jacket. While this saves on heating/cooling, making cement is energy intensive, and that's a lot of concrete!. Hopefully we'll figure out a way to do that more efficiently.

[@michaelsolly158]

I'm visiting fed square soon, I'd love to explore and discover these Easter eggs :)

[@JulianOShea]

Doooo it.

[@prkpay]

The University of Queensland has a similar cooling system for it's Advanced Engineering Building that takes in cool air from a lake that's situated right next to it.

[@lionelw007]

There is used to be an underground mall structure under Fed square before Fed square was built. I wonder if its still there.

[@varrjames186]

Do you mean under the railway tracks?

[@mattjns]

Princes Bridge Station and mall. Completely gone now. 👍🏼

[@jay-em]

Would be interesting to know how much excess concrete is required above the structural need and by extension the embodied energy for this system.

[@jimbolimbobimbo369]

True, it would also be interesting to know how much fan energy is needed to push that air over such a long distance

[@jay-em]

@@jimbolimbobimbo369 I guess overall this system is trying to beat an evaporative cooling solution (unless they had of decided to go all out and used river water through a heat exchanger).

[@ultimobile]

@@jay-em I'm presuming the drawth of the air from over the Yarra River would somehow have higher humidity to help balance those occasional crazy hot dry 42C winds from the Mallee Desert

[@haxmanz]

Very cool, would love to go down myself one day.

[@JulianOShea]

If you ever get the chance. Grab it!

[@joeybean9132]

love seeing ur uploads julian!!

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, mate!

[@sw4gbread]

Hi Julian, any chance of you getting access to the secret ball room at the top of Flinders st station?

[@JulianOShea]

It’s open right now! (Rising Festival - A Miracle Constantly Repeated)

[@grim_dave]

Neat, I'll be there tomorrow!

[@jemxs]

Really interesting!

[@JulianOShea]

I think so too!

[@punkrockzoologist9449]

Never thought of "coolth" as an unusual word. I feel like I've always used it.

[@Mohnasman]

Went down there yeeears ago in highschool. It. Is. Pitch. Black. You cannot see your hand in front of your face, but can feel the heat coming off it. Very cool stuff.

[@zuokia]

Melbourne looks like a huge city now. Last time I was in Florida, Melbourne would of been a large town. It’s mind blowing!

[@The_Jazziest_Coffee]

haha, this melbourne is actually in australia; the melbourne you're thinking of is the one near orlando in florida understandable, since they do have the same name

[@zuokia]

@@The_Jazziest_Coffee oh my bad. Never heard of Melbourne in Australia. The only places I have heard of in Australia is Sydney and Auckland.

[@The_Jazziest_Coffee]

@@zuokia hate to break it to you, but auckland's in new zealand which is a seperate country by itself haha. don't worry, most people only remember sydney, so that's alright

[@zuokia]

@@The_Jazziest_Coffee oh I see. Australia and New Zealand seem to have the same accent. Very confusing for me

[@madiis18account]

Oh hey, Melbourne Zoo has a similar thing under its Wild Seas area but much smaller.

[@johnbeart]

Really interesting. 👍👍 Nice 1

[@SB-gv4ug]

Please tell me you ripped one while you were down there? That’s like next level god tier stuff right there.

[@sween64]

Is it KZbin or just me? 480p is the highest quality I can watch this. PS Always love your videos Julian.

[@JulianOShea]

Thanks, mate! - Yep - weird quality setting was on my end. Not sure went rogue.

[@Asianpotato77]

So if fed square is a processor then this is the heat sink? That's awesome I Never knew about this

[@matthahne]

Kinda, yeah! Though there's another aspect here. A heat sink uses ambient air to bring the hot CPU down to a temp closer to the current ambient temp. Whereas this takes a bunch of concrete, cools it down using the cool night air, and then uses that cooled stone to cool down the hot daytime air. It definitely has a lot in common with heat sinks, but it's also kinda like a thermal battery, storing cool temperature at night, and releasing it during the day!

[@zaimfpv]

ha. i worked there as a cleaner for 6 months a couple days a week in my early 20’s.. had no idea that existed under it