Turrbal and Jagera/Yuggera
Queensland
Brisbane
Brisbane Metro is public architecture at city scale. It transforms 2.5 kilometres of inner-city streets and precinct interfaces into a connected, climate responsive public realm, while introducing a high capacity, zero-tailpipe emission metro fleet and infrastructure enhancements that lifts corridor performance. Brisbane Metro reframes rapid transit as a sequence of civic rooms where arrivals are clear, movement is intuitive, and waiting is dignified.
Generous footpaths, integrated canopies, cycling and public art create a legible, accessible subtropical city experience along the corridor. Brisbane Metro reinforces a distinct civic identity that supports public transport use and delivers lasting social, environmental and economic value. Through collaboration between design, construction and Client, and the project principles of re-use, repurposing and upgrading, the project has been Certified with an Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) Leading Design Rating. The result is a coherent, high amenity public realm and leaves a durable legacy as Brisbane moves toward 2032.
Brisbane Metro is a civic transport project that has transformed the arrival experience at the Cultural Centre. The station design is intentionally restrained to complement the surrounding heritage precinct. The structure, columns and furniture, align with Robin Gibson’s Cultural Centre grid. The lightweight roof incorporates greenery and integrated artwork on the underside of the canopy with diffuse lighting at night. At the ground plane the paving of the platforms is unified with the Cultural Centre Forecourt. The relocated lifts and redesigned QPAC Green seamlessly integrate the station with the the Cultural Centre enhancing the movement across the precinct.Â
Commendation for Public Architecture
Brisbane Metro is a civic transport project that has transformed the arrival experience at the Cultural Centre. The station design is intentionally restrained to complement the surrounding heritage precinct. The structure, columns and furniture, align with Robin Gibson’s Cultural Centre grid. The lightweight roof incorporates greenery and integrated artwork on the underside of the canopy with diffuse lighting at night. At the ground plane the paving of the platforms is unified with the Cultural Centre Forecourt. The relocated lifts and redesigned QPAC Green seamlessly integrate the station with the the Cultural Centre enhancing the movement across the precinct.Â
The Brisbane Metro project was the catalyst for reshaping more than 2.5 kilometres of the inner‑city’s public realm. Its interventions deliver more generous public places, improved connections to major cultural institutions and civic buildings, and a deeply contextual placemaking approach that respects heritage while responding to the immediate locality’s intensity of use. The decluttering of Adelaide Street and reopening of key view corridors at the Queensland Cultural Centre exemplify this ambition. Through the integration of art, landscape, and architecture, the project elevates essential transport infrastructure, expands canopy cover, and celebrates Brisbane’s climate, identity, and evolving urban character.Â
Maja Belic, Project Architect
Greg Crouch, Design Architect
Shy Tay, Design Architect
Peter Webb, Design Architect
Caryl Heraldo, Graduate of Architecture
Angela Chua, Graduate of Architecture
Stephanie Codd, Graduate of Architecture
Benjamin Connor, Graduate of Architecture
Caroline Stalker, Design Director
Nard Buijs, Project Architect
Melinda Morrison, Design Architect
Nev Ryan, Architecture Technician
Brisbane City Council, Project Principal
Acciona, Construction Partner
Arup, Design Partner
Arup, Principal Architect
Arup, Urban Design
Arup, Landscape Architecture
Conrad Gargett, Heritage Consultant
Cottee Parker, Subconsultant Architect
Arup, Specialist Lighting
Arup, Engineer
Arup / Acciona / Brisbane City Council, Sustainability
Dot Dash, Signage and Wayfinding
McKenize Group, Accessibility and Building Certifier
Jennifer Marchant & Sam Cranstoun, Artist
UAP, Public Art
Fred St, Subconsultant Landscape Architecture