Detailed designs have been released for Perth’s new airport link railway stations. The two UK-based transport design practices chosen for the project – Weston Williamson and Partners in collaboration with GHD Woodhead – released designs for all three stations that comprise the Forrestfield-Airport Link, which will be named Airport Central, Belmont and Forrestfield.
Although designs for each of the sites draw from their specific and different context, the project will be tied together by several common threads. A significant aspect of the ongoing design, for instance, will be the integration of artworks by local artists. Each station will also feature a roof shape that allows an ample quantity of natural light to filter through to pedestrian areas.
Otherwise, each design reflects the specific contextual realities of the three sites. The Belmont Station design in particular is a response to the high-density growth that the area is expected to experience in the near future. Conversely, the Forrestfield Station design expresses a preoccupation with local character and materials, such as the Kimberley stone cladding that will be applied to the exterior façade. The most rigid of the designs was Airport Central, which needed to comply with the Perth Airport Masterplan.
The $1.86-billion Forrestfield-Airport Link is being jointly funded by both the federal and Western Australian state governments. The new railway lines will connect with the existing Midland Line near Bayswater Station, in an effort to improve access between the airport and Perth CBD. The project will also increase public transport options for the eastern suburbs and foothills areas of Perth.
The new airport link is expected to open in 2020.
