Overview
Büro North have been engaged to provide Customer Centred Design research and analysis as part of the new Western Sydney Airport Line.
The Parklife Metro consortium comprising Plenary Group, Webuild, RATP Dev and Siemens Mobility has been awarded the new Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Stations, Systems, Trains, Operations and Maintenance (SSTOM) package.
Working with Hassell Architects, and as part of the Park Life Metro team, we have developed a research methodology which encompassed the six stations, the precincts and rolling stock.
This method has enabled our team to swiftly identify and understand the core design challenges, offering valuable insights to the architectural team to effectively address these potential issues.
We have been testing how people respond to different elements of the station and precinct designs, and been able to improve the customer response to architectural finishes, station planning, placement of furniture, lighting, and other customer elements. We identified opportunities through landscape and station design to improve the user experience, and worked closely with the design joint venture to resolve these. In addition to the stations testing, we were commissioned to provide CCD testing and advice for the new trains being delivered by Siemens.
As part of an international team, we worked to test how people would use the trains, seating options, and safety elements in a combination of virtual reality, mixed reality, and 1:1 prototypes. Customers were able to walk through, touch, grab, and sit in a prototype train carriage while wearing a VR headset.
Our customer testing for the Western Sydney Airport Line has been able to demonstrate to Sydney Metro, and their stakeholders, that the station and train designs were popular with customers, and de-risk the delivery of one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects.
"Büro North has worked as an integral part of the Parklife Metro Consortium on the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport SSTOM works. Their experienced team has delivered leadership and management of the Customer Centred Design process and provided positive design insight which will benefit future users of the Western Sydney Airport Line".
Paul Digby
