Australian architecture practice Wood Marsh has abstracted Darebin’s roofscape with a three-dimensional concrete pattern for the new Bell and Preston Stations in Preston, Victoria, Australia. 

Named Preston Level Crossing Removal Project, the project was completed as part of the Level Crossings Removal Project. The two stations, called Bell and Preston Stations, form two critical parts of the greater rail redevelopment along the Mernda Line, removing 4 level crossings and providing 3 MCG’s worth of recreational community space.

Developed in collaboration with Tract Consultants, this green space created beneath the elevated rail is activated with improved amenities and connections, including landscaping, gathering spaces, and shared user paths. 

While the Bell Station’s façade takes cues from the heritage-listed housing stock surrounding the site, Wood Marsh abstracted the City of Darebin’s roofscape into a three-dimensional pattern that forms the concrete façade. 

To create an animated façade, the studio played with the angled patterns that include multi-coloured glass windows, and these windows filter coloured light into the double-height concourse space. 

"These colours are drawn from hues that illuminate the neighbouring Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre and reduce the need for artificial light in the concourse," said Wood Marsh in its project brief.

"Bell Station’s development includes the design of a public amphitheatre doubling as a flood basin. The dual-purpose space, adjacent to the Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre, allows the existing community asset to extend into the station development," the studio added.

On the other hand, the Preston Station’s design addresses the influence of the neighbouring Preston Market. The façade is enlivened by a series of black vertical curves that resemble the barcodes used by market vendors.

"These folds were filled with vivid colours drawn from the produce at Preston Market to extend the vibrancy of the market into the station," the team continued. 

"This vibrancy was then extended into the station’s interior; the cladding continues into the concourse and the windows filter coloured light into this space."

"Additionally, Preston Station has been designed to be adapted to the future development of Preston Market," the office continued.

Throughout the project, color and form are incorporated into the design as place-making tools. The office added that "The Mernda Line is attributed a lilac identity."

"As such, pink and lilac piers and feature lighting perform as civic markers. As colours that do not naturally occur in the built environment, these identifiers enhance the stations’ prominence," it added. 

The patterned, colorful cladding elements and lighting of the facades of both stations are designed as place-making mechanisms of the buildings, making the rails part of the public architecture.

As the studio noted, both station designs meet the highest ISC and 6-star Greenstar requirements for rail projects, while advocating environmental awareness seen in the station's sustainability credentials.

The project features urban design and civic zones, including green spaces and native planting grounds, in order to promote and act as an ecological network. 

The increase in amenity around and within the stations increases user activity and activation. This activation promotes safety by increasing passive surveillance around the network. These spaces used for public amenities also provide better access to streets previously blocked by the rail corridor.

Both Bell and Preston Stations incorporated Indigenous design initiatives to create meaningful and inclusive spaces. The outcomes of this include a range of landscape and urban design elements. 

These include space for yarning circles in the surrounding landscaping, and Indigenous design elements such as the viaduct screen pattern and the lift pattern at both stations. The project fosters opportunities for cultural learning and serves as a functional community space.

The plans for both stations carefully considered program so that they could function effectively. For example, Bell Station was planned with programs inhabiting the four corners of the building, so that the generous concourse remains unconditioned. Additionally, the staircases in Preston Station allow the platform to load from either end, evenly distributing passengers along the platform and thereby the train.

As civic places of arrival and departure, the project links the local community to greater Melbourne. In doing so, it provides safe and equitable access. The project exemplifies how transportation infrastructure can be reimagined to revitalise the precinct.

Site plan

Ground floor plan - Bell Station

Section

Ground floor plan - Preston Station

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Section

Wood Marsh recently completed the Peninsula House in the south of Melbourne, Australia. The studio designed a residential apartment that features organically-sculpted columns that complement the undulating surfaces in Prahran, an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Project facts

Project name: Preston Level Crossing Removal Project 

Architects: Wood Marsh 

Location: Preston, Victoria, Australia

Client: North Western Program Alliance as part of the Level Crossings Removal Project 

Completion year: 2024

Landscape: Tract 

Built: by John Holland 

All images © Peter Bennetts.

All drawings © Wood Marsh.

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