Waterloo Station is one of six new stations on a line that will revolutionise public transport in Sydney. Chosen in 2015 and seen as the catalyst for the suburb’s revitalisation, the John McAslan + Partners-designed station is now on the precipice of its opening.
Metre-thick walls wrap the station’s facade, in order to ensure the station remains watertight. The high water table of Waterloo – a suburb once filled with ponds and lakes – has seen the station likened to a bathtub.
“Because the groundwater table is so high here, the station is tanked,” says Waterloo Metro Station Delivery Director Luke Garden in an article with the Sydney Morning Herald.
“They have tension piles at the bottom ... to hold it in. You don’t want it to float – you have to anchor it down.”
The industrial nature of Waterloo is reflected within material curation, while a skylight allows for natural light to permeate throughout the underground station. Commuters will take escalators from the main entrance to the concourse, which features 100 Indigenous footprints on a wall moulded by Gadigal Nura by artist Nicole Monks. A mural of an Aboriginal dancer adorns a wall above the concourse serves as its salient art piece.
Transport for NSW anticipates some 6,000 commuters will use the station each morning. An abundance of lifts and escalators have been integrated to account for future growth. A number of operations systems will be out of sight for commuters, with two thirds of the station’s systems and equipment restricted from public view.
Over-station development has been a cornerstone of NSW’s Metro projects, with Waterloo Collective, a $900 million mixed-use precinct well underway. The Mirvac-developed project will comprise a 25-storey student accommodation tower, a 24-storey residential building, a 16-level office tower and a nine-level social housing building, with completion anticipated for 2026.
Waterloo Metro is scheduled to open in 2024.
