Designs for two more train stations in Melbourne have been unveiled, designed by Wood Marsh, with landscape architect Tract Consultants.
Bell Station and Preston Station in the city’s north, delivered as part of the state government’s wide-ranging level crossing removal program, will offer improved amenity and connectivity on the Mernda Line.
Both stations will be splashed with a purple pigmentation to stand out and give the line a unique identity, while the two designs will take separate approaches to capture the qualities of the local landmarks of each site.
Bell Station will respond to the typical post-war roof forms of the surrounding houses.
“It interested me that post-war housing stock is heritage listed in Darebin,” said Wood Marsh director Roger Wood. “So we decided to condense an abstraction of an aerial of photograph of the roofscape of the surrounding area and then cast it in concrete and lifted it onto the facade of the building to create the building’s texture.”
Pastel coloured acrylic panels will activate the interior spaces with reflections and refractions during the day, while a band of glazing at the top will bring light onto the platforms.
Preston Station by Wood Marsh, with landscape architect Tract Consultants.
The design for the Preston Station takes inspiration from its proximity to the Preston Markets, with its facade resembling a barcode used by the market vendors.
“We started with a black facade that is pleated,” said Wood. “Then we’ve scanned the barcode in vibrant colours so when the carparks empty, there’s still a sense of the marketplace vibrancy about the station.”
By lifting the railway, the project will create new landscaped open space, designed by Tract, reconnecting the neighbourhoods and providing new areas for recreation below the railway and between the two stations.
A motif running through this space will be a modern interpretation of Wurundjeri shield markings, developed in collaboration with a number of Wurundjeri Aunties and WSP, which will run the entire length of the project along a viaduct, casting shadows onto the rails.
The landscaping will also include spaces for yarning circles and plantings for weaving as well as food sources that can be harvested by the local Indigenous community.
Construction on the stations is now underway.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
