Transport-led development and city gateways
Pitt Street over-station development in Sydney (Foster and Partners)
Post Covid-19 some workers are reluctant to go back to the office, so will stations with their retail offers continue to attract investment? Future Cities Forum will be discussing this important topic over the next few weeks in our new series of master planning, transport, office and retail forums.
Sydney Metro is Australia's biggest transport project and by 2024 the city will have 31 metro railway stations and a 66 km standalone metro railway system revolutionising the way people travel. From the north west, metro rail is being extended under Sydney Harbour, through new underground city stations and beyond to the south west.
New designs for a mixed-use over station development at the heart of Sydney have been revealed by Foster + Partners. A new 39-storey premium office building on the corner of Park and Pitt streets will create a vibrant mixed-use hub offering flexible office space with an elevated lobby and retail plaza in the heart of Sydney's shopping, dining and entertainment precinct. The design follows on from the work undertaken by the practice on five of the new stations on Sydney Metro City & Southwest.
The building is located immediately above the northern entrance to Pitt Street Station, a crucial hub for the new Sydney Metro. Strategically located at the junction of Sydney's southern CBD and the midtown retail precinct, the station stretches underground across an entire city block between Park Street and Bathurst Street. The north station entrance plaza fronts onto the tree lined Park Street which is one of the most prominent east-west cross-streets in Sydney.
The building looks out over views over the Harbour, Hyde Park and Town Halls and is designed with a sandstone and bronze colour palette linking it to other surrounding heritage buildings in the area. The architects' firm believes it is a project that reflects Sydney's status as a truly global city.
The Pitt Street north development will reinforce and frame one of the key gateways to the city with a design that celebrates the rich architectural heritage of the precinct and heralds the future of Sydney's next generation of midtown development.