Petersham Station Upgrade

Located in Sydney’s Inner West surrounded by a patchwork of Federation houses, medium density apartments, shopfronts and pocket parks, Petersham Station has been upgraded to be an accessible and welcoming asset for the local community.

A key challenge was responding to both the existing State heritage-listed station and the surrounding urban context. New architectural elements provide a clear delineation between the new and the original through the use of off-form concrete, steel and glazing to contrast and complement the original detailed ironwork of the footbridge and brick buildings. The grandeur of the 1880s former station is reintroduced through the reconstruction of the original 1926 lighting arches along the footbridge.

Location: Gadigal Country
Petersham, New South Wales
Client: Transport for NSW, Arenco
Year: 2021
Collaborators: Art Pharmacy
Project Contact: Megan Walker
Photography: Sandor Duzs
Share: Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to LinkedIn Share via email

DesignInc provided integrated urban design, architecture and landscape services for detailed design, documentation and construction phase services for this project. Upgrades include new lifts with canopies connecting the existing footbridge to the platform and to Terminus Street, new ramp access to Trafalgar Street and an accessible bathroom with a glass canopy for covered access. Connections with the surrounding area have been improved with landscaping, a new kiss n ride area, accessible parking, integration with the future Inner West Council Regional Route 7 cycle way, upgraded wayfinding and security features such as CCTV.

Our team worked with Art Pharmacy to commission a public art piece by muralist Steven Nuttall (also known as Ox King) that fits with the evolution of the Petersham train station and local area. Nuttall’s piece ‘The journey home’ a depiction of the famed Australian poet Henry Lawson. Describing the mural Nuttall writes “The last rays of afternoon sunlight spill across Petersham station bathing the waiting Henry Lawson in its warm light. Rain will begin to fall soon, a summer storm, but the poet is lost in thought, straining to see the outlines of a poem in his mind’s eye.”

The last rays of afternoon sunlight spill across Petersham station bathing the waiting Henry Lawson in its warm light. Rain will begin to fall soon, a summer storm, but the poet is lost in thought, straining to see the outlines of a poem in his mind’s eye.
Steven Nuttall (Ox King), Muralist