Bunurong
Victoria
Located on the Frankston train line, the Glen Huntly Level Crossing Removal Project re-envisioned the existing rail corridor creating safer cross-corridor connections and providing a new train station, tram stop and associated infrastructure to service the local community.
The design of the station celebrates the character of the Glen Huntly Road retail precinct and provides a new central open town square space suitable for programmed events and informal gathering. A material palette of red brick, stone, timber and anodised aluminium complements the fabric of the surrounding streetscape, while providing a unique identity for the station.
The project celebrates the deeper history of the local retail and civil hub while improving commuter and pedestrian connections and enhancing and encouraging the commuter experience.
Sitting prominently on Glen Huntly Road, the new train station, delivered as part of the level crossing removal program, deftly supports seamless, generous connectivity across multiple transport modes. The complexity of the site at the start of the project: congestion, complex electrical infrastructure and entrapment of commuters in the ‘snorkel’ to exit the station has been so expertly resolved, the end result feels effortless for users. Leveraging their expertise in station design, Cox tested multiple station configurations, driving an outcome that prioritises solar access, a generous public realm, exceptional amenity and a strong sense of this place. The project delivers site-based sustainability initiatives such as rooftop solar and water-sensitive landscaping but, perhaps more importantly, encourages increased human-powered and public transport through the eastern suburbs. Delivered over an extraordinary 4 month construction timeframe, the exceptional result reflects the fluency of the project team with this particular typology, procurement and delivery method. Glen Huntly station exemplifies what we need more of: nuanced, site-specific generous and high-quality public spaces.
Removal of the Neerim Road and Glen Huntly Road level crossings – previously referred to as ‘the Berlin Wall’ locally because of the length of boom gate down time on the busy Frankston Line – has completely changed how locals use their community.
Where there was traffic congestion, the community now has a vibrant station precinct, landscaping, pocket park and active transport options via a shared use path connecting Caulfield and Bentleigh.
The hero feature of the station design, inspired by local architecture, is a brick archway. This is unique among stations built by the Level Crossing Removal Project.
Andrew Hayes, Design Architect
Jessica Chapman, Project Architect
Rae Ong, Project Architect
Valerie Leong, Project Architect
Amanda Barker, Project Architect
Colin Wilson, Project Architect
Vanessa Jackson, Project Architect
Teina Purdie, Project Architect
Duy Dang, Project Architect
Nitesh Janakiraman, Project Architect
Nazanin Shaigan, Project Architect
Junhong Huang, Project Architect
Ann Gie Tee, Project Architect
Philippa Choong, Project Architect
Sam Chesbrough, Project Architect
Paula Alvarez-Garcia, BIM Manager
Acciona Coleman Rail Joint Venture, Construction Manager
WSP, Engineer
Beca, Engineer
Rush Wright Associates, Landscape Consultant
CODUS, Building Surveyor
Philip Chun, DDA Consultant
Meagan Streader, Artist