Glenroy Station

Traditionally, station design is focused on the commuter journey and commuter amenities. Glenroy’s design approach challenges this notion and demonstrates a progressive design can address both its urban context and reflect the unique character of its location to be a design that serves both commuters and the community.

By broadening the scope and possibilities of a ‘station’, creative and cost-effective measures were used throughout the design to achieve a quality product and maintain a high amenity look and finish. In creating a welcoming and unique feeling precinct, the project strengthens the social fabric of the local community.

Genton’s urban design strategy involved relocating the station away from the heavily trafficked intersection at Glenroy Road, to prioritise pedestrianisation through the creation of a bridge linking the retail centre of Glenroy to the eastern side of the corridor to catalyse new opportunities for urban renewal.

The new station has improved the formerly disconnected public amenities, enhancing street presence and creating an easier and safer environment by reducing the dangerous and congested level crossing at Glenroy Road. It also offers commuters a straight line of travel, avoiding footpaths and roads, to the connecting bus interchange.

Within the station, the soffit of the canopy and internal walls are a vibrant copper tone, referencing the industrial local context of the site, creating a striking accent and a warm, light environment for commuters. The design of the ground-level station includes two new lifts in conjunction stair access to each to platform, a waiting room with city views, undercover seating areas and improved lighting. This offers great benefit to the passengers and makes the station an enjoyable part of their commuting trip.

Inspired by the basalt plains on which the site sits, a translucent canopy of perforated, anodised aluminium covers the station, forming a bold structure that allows for permeability through the station while maintaining visibility and safety. The scale of the station building is designed to appear grounded in the landscape, and over time to blend in with surrounding greenery as the landscape matures in future years.

Collaborating with landscape architects Mala Studio, the project includes a new linear park running from the station entrance to Glenroy Road that will provide pleasant passage between the activity centres of Post Office Place and Wheatsheaf Road. A linear bus interchange minimises space requirements for those in transit.

The bridge link was widened to 14 metres to enhance connectivity between Post Office Place and Hartington Street at the ground plane, making the project more than a train station by encouraging pedestrian movement between both sides of the tracks. Landscape and material prompts are employed to carefully and subtly separate cyclist and pedestrian zones.

Through creativity, quality and attention to detail, the design creates something unexpected of station design, allowing locals and visitors to experience Glenroy Station in a new way. By broadening the scope and possibilities of a ‘station’, creative and cost-effective measures were used throughout the design to achieve a quality product and maintain a high amenity look and finish.

Examples include:

• Multi-functional Design Elements – Using creativity and innovation to turn functional/standard elements such as the station canopy and station entry into architectural icons.
• Material Strategy – Selected for reference to the local landscape, durability and low ongoing maintenance, as well as high quality appearance.
• Pre-fabrication – Sections of the station building, and other elements were designed for pre-fabrication off site, for onsite assembly, minimising disruption to the travelling public.

Landscaping was an integral part of the design, providing new public green spaces and providing a new linear park.

Consultant/Stakeholder Collaboration – The station was delivered in an alliance structure. In order to push the ambitious vision forward, close collaboration was employed with all stakeholders very early in the design process. This enabled the sharing of ideas and a reduction in the number of design iterations, providing both cost and time effective.

The new station has improved the formerly disconnected public amenities, enhancing street presence, and creating an easier and safer environment by reducing the dangerous and congested level crossing at Glenroy Road. It also offers commuters a straight line of travel, avoiding footpaths and roads, to the connecting bus interchange. Key elements allow the station to both address the city and service commuters are:

Canopy: More than a shelter, this translucent canopy of perforated, anodised aluminium covers the station, has created a gateway and a bold landmark. The permeable nature of the structure provides safety and visibility and facilitates ease of travel and circulation from one side of the station to the other.

Mass and form: The scale of the station building is designed to appear grounded in the landscape, and over time to blend in with surrounding greenery as the landscape matures in future years.

Entry/Forecourt: The station forecourt creates a grand sense of arrival to the station and city. This has improved safety and commuter pedestrian flow to alight or embark services and pass through the gate line.

The design of Glenroy Station demonstrates a holistic approach to sustainability by engaging with environmental and economically sustainable practices. Besides allowing for the provision of solar panels, the canopy and screen provide solar shading and passive ventilation. Careful selection of materials and drought resistant on-platform planting, promises low maintenance durability. Most of the station was prefabricated off site, allowing for economic and time efficiency.

Glenroy station installed 86 solar panels on the roof of the new station. This impressive system was installed on the main station canopy. It is a 38kW system, which is expected to provide 150,557 MJ (megajoules) per year or 41,826 kWh (kilowatt hours) per year.

By installing solar panels and a generator, Glenroy Station is a more resilient building, able to withstand power outages and other weather impacts in the future.

With the solar panel system in place, the station is less reliant on mains power and will offset 41,000kg (Carbon dioxide equivalent) of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

The station uses LED lighting around the precinct with a rainwater tank installed for flushing toilets - reducing the demand on mains water by around 55%. The team at Glenroy has also used recycled plastic in the footpaths and bike paths around the station. Known as e-Mesh, it completely replaces non-recycled plastic fibres or steel reinforcing mesh inside concrete pathways.

The construction also re-uses railway ballast (the rocks and stones that support train tracks) crushed underneath the asphalt of the station car park.

Landscaping designs around the station precinct were released recently, with the University of Melbourne’s ‘Woody Meadow Project’ incorporated into the design. The woody meadow will book-end the north and south precincts of the project with a ribbon of water-sensitive urban design which travels through the carparks of Glenroy Station.