Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Buildings, Access Citation

Olympic Park Railway Station by Hassell

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  Main (west) entrance from Station Square. Image: Peter Hyatt

The Olympic Park Rail Station was intended by the Olympic Co-ordination Authority to become the main transport gateway to the Olympics and RAS Showgrounds sites at Homebush, NSW. The Hassell design is for a giant, elongated shed with a steel and glass roof of folded arcs sheltering a heavy masonry base cut into the ground for subterranean tracks and platforms. Passengers rise to ground level via grand staircases, escalators and glazed lifts (accomodating wheelchairs); all planned to encourage legibility of direction and movement. Along the roof ridges, strips of glass conduct natural light throughout the main hall.

An interior view of the station. Image: Peter Hyatt

Jury Verdict
Hassell has created a heraldic structure which acts as a gigantic people mover, celebrating arrival and acknowledging departure. As the portal to the Olympic village, home of the Sydney Royal Easter Show and many other gala events to come, the building had to be impressive and significant, yet reusable as a suburban railway station once the 2000 Olympics were over. This dichotomy has been resolved by the decision to place most of the functions below ground level.

The building works on several levels. The roof, with its arching trusses, employs a cathedral-like vault with columns soaring the full height of the building. Importantly, when handling the numbers of people expected, there is a sense of being urged forward; with all stairs, escalators and ramps impelling visitors onwards and upwards towards the light and a dramatic sense of arrival. There is a restrained use of colours and materials, with uncluttered open planes and surfaces.

The building celebrates the return and continuation of the great tradition of rail buildings and stands as an Australian ‘foyer’ introduction to the Olympic Games experience. This is an entirely satisfying, optimistic building; comfortable in its late twentieth century sensibility, a mature blending of contemporary materials and technology: a gateway to the future.

Access Citation
The station imparts no hierarchy of transit styles and provides equitable access to all user groups. Disabled access is excellent with ample lifts and ramps and textured floors. It employs tactile indicators for the visually impaired, undercover queuing space and full lighting for clear and direct traffic flow. The open, promenading quality promotes a legibility of purpose which adds to the celebration of special events.

The design places most access functions below ground level, the vantage point from which the arrival is made and the first impression received. The building successfully handles the problems of different crowd-control situations with a flexible entry and exit system.

This bold solution has been structured entirely towards achieving the excellent access required for extraordinary traffic of up to 50,000 passengers per hour.

Credits

Project
Olympic Park Rail Station, Homebush, NSW
Architect
Hassell
Australia
Project Team
Ken Maher, Rodney Uren, Robin McInnes, Geoff Crowe, William Smart, Andrew Cortese, John woodman, Mano Ponnambalam, Vanessa Yee, Adrian Gotlieb
Consultants
Acoustics RFA Acoustic Design
Builder Leighton Contractors
Civil and electrical engineer Aurecon
Communications consultant Gutteridge Haskins & Davey
Developer Olympic Co-ordination Authority
Landscape architect Hassell
Mechanical and Hydraulic Engineers Aurecon
Project manager Gutteridge Haskins & Davey
Quantity surveyor Page Kirkland Partnership
Signage consultant Emery Vincent Design
Structural engineer Tierney & Partners
Site Details
Location Homebush,  Sydney,  NSW,  Australia
Project Details
Status Built

Source

Archive

Published online: 1 Nov 1998

Issue

Architecture Australia, November 1998

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