by: The RIBA Journal

In a city that seldom celebrates its everyday architecture, new stations by UK architects Fosters, Grimshaw and McAslans have provoked public joy at their sheer grandeur, writes Sydney-based critic Elizabeth Farrelly

Sydney’s new eight-station metro line has three standout characteristics. First and most astounding is the spontaneous acclaim with which Sydneysiders embraced it; second is the evident quality arc in station design, with by far the most glorious stations in the middle; and third is the overwhelming ubiquity of brown. Considering these seriatim yields some insight into Sydney’s complicated relationship with its architecture.
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That leaves the two stations by John McAslan + Partners, Waterloo and Central, the latter in collaboration with Australian practice Woods Bagot. These, and especially Central, are the best of the bunch. Waterloo has the dubious honour of being funded by four massive above-ground commercially driven towers (with the gently cynical title of Waterloo Collective) that will bring radical change to this, Sydney’s traditional public housing precinct. That’s above ground. Below, the station makes a valiant effort to memorialise local history. There’s a fine 10m-high portrait of smiling young Indigenous dancer Roscoe and a massive mural comprising hundreds of gleaming, moulded footsteps, both by Indigenous artist Nicole Monks, as well as a narrative premised on a chronological layering of materials, from ancient to modern, as you emerge into the light.

JMP Sydney director Troy Uleman recalls the design start-point in consulting Indigenous advisers Yerrabingin. ‘Through Yerrabingin we learnt the phrase “the past is in the earth and the future is in the sky” and that became our conceptual framework,’ he says. ‘Across three levels, passengers are taken on a journey from the ancient to the modern.’ 

For the full RIBA Journal article, click here
 

image: Sydney Central Station ©Brett Boardman
image below: Waterloo Station, Sydney ©Peter Bennetts