Overview
The Engineering Design Assurance Technical Partnership (EDATP), including Mott MacDonald, Grimshaw, Hassell, Aspect Studios and Büro North provides design advice for major transport works in New South Wales. Büro North, as Customer Centred Design lead, has been tasked with contributing to the reference designs for the new Sydney Metro West line.
Sydney Metro West, part of Australia’s largest infrastructure project, features nine new stations from Westmead to the CBD, including a major event station at Sydney Olympic Park and a precinct development at Parramatta. This significant infrastructure needs to cater to diverse customer needs while remaining cost-effective and future-proof.
Our goal has been to develop a methodology for very rapid, extensive customer engagement including working groups, interviews, and workshops to ensure customer insights were actionable and shared across all stations. We have engaged with nearly 1000 customers, using a combination of lightweight prototypes, visualisations, and VR models to place them in realistic station environments.
Our flexible approach has facilitated hundreds of customer interviews, generating unique data driven insights that have improved station designs and supported crucial infrastructure planning decisions. These insights have led to improved gate-lines, circulation, ingress and egress experiences, legibility and station operations.
Civic spaces were realigned to enhance precinct-wide movements, and architectural features like skylights and open station boxes were retained due to positive customer feedback. Additionally, we identified and mitigated a range of CPTED and safety issues, ensuring a secure environment, and supported decisions on station access and vertical transport through evidence-based data.
This reference design forms the foundation for future works, ensuring that the stations’ development aligns with customer needs and expectations. Our CCD expertise helped design stations that truly place the customer at the centre, enhancing the overall passenger experience for Sydney Metro West.
"the team delivered strategic support and customer centred design expertise with passion on a fast paced and diverse project with great professionalism.”
Dr Tara Kazi C.ErgHF MIEHF PhD MSc BSc Hons
