Human scale and local materiality are at the core of the Woods Bagot-led designs for METRONET’s Morley-Ellenbrook Line, Perth’s largest public transport project since the Mandurah Line was built in 2007.
It fills a key gap in the Perth rail network – the north-east corridor, which has the city’s highest level of car usage. Ellenbrook is also one of Perth’s fastest-growing regions with annual population growth forecast to be more than 6.5 per cent.
Work is well under way on the project which features five fresh stations connected by 21km of new track at Morley, Noranda, Malaga, Whiteman Park and Ellenbrook.
Designed in collaboration with architects Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick and landscape architects TCL and UDLA, Woods Bagot have been working as the lead design consultant and proactive partner in the MELconnx Consortium led by Laing O’Rourke Australia.
Kukame McPierzie, Woods Bagot’s Perth studio chair, says the design approach positions each station within a line-wide narrative while also allowing each of the precincts to possess its own identity and unique elements.
For example, at Malaga Station he says: “The station architecture expresses a clear hierarchy of forms.”
“The main triangulated roof is reminiscent of the local banksia bushland leaves, with a simple hipped geometry that ‘floats’ above the station, providing natural light and cross ventilation,” says McPierzie.
A common design language is maintained across all stations through curated and consistent forms, materials and finishes while still providing sufficient flexibility to allow each station to retain a singular identity and sense of place reflecting the local site context and character.
“We are delighted to continue our strong working relationship with Laing O’Rourke forged while working together on Sydney Central Station and energized by the MELconnx Consortium’s focus and commitment to creating the best possible outcome for the people of Perth,” he says.
“These sorts of projects are transformational – influencing people’s experience of their city and impacting many over their lifetimes.”
The trip from Ellenbrook to the CBD will take 30 minutes and offer better connections to Midland, Perth Airport, Whiteman Park and the Swan Valley, cutting public transport travel time by 50 per cent.
See our major transport projects in the Rail Express December 2022 issue.
Media enquiries Martin Kelly Content and Communications Leader (Australia & New Zealand)
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