Olympic Park Station

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games are remembered as a time when Australia was at the heart of the global village, with visitors from across the globe flocking to sites like Sydney Olympic Park. 

As gateway to the main site, the new Olympic Park Station handled an estimated 80 percent of the 1.2 million people attending the Games. 

In the years since, the station has delivered sports fans and concert-goers to countless sporting events, seamlessly switching from its weekday through-put operations to handle up to 1,600 people every two minutes. 

By design, the can accommodate up to 50,000 patrons safely, efficiently and comfortably during peak times. A simple, innovative arrangement of platforms, stairs and escalators, tested and refined through computer passenger flow modelling, ensures easy transition for patrons – a critical consideration demanded by the Olympic Coordination Authority (OCA).

The OCA also demanded total equity access, which was achieved through all areas within and around the station. To assist the hearing impaired, speech induction loops were also installed.

In keeping with the Olympics’ celebration of country and culture, the station’s design is a distinctly Australian response to the tradition of the great glass and iron railway stations of the nineteenth century. Open, direct and clear, it responds to the local climate, with the canopy acting like a verandah to provide protection from rain and sun and offer access to light and breeze. 

The spectacular roof is a defining feature. Thin and light, thanks to an ingenious steel vaulted concertina structure, its curved leaf-like form is inspired by native gum trees and enhances the sense of arrival.

Practically, the roof’s monolithic base is carved into the ground to embed the platforms and retaining walls, while the lightweight, folded steel roof, free of services, floats above – ​‘lifting the lid’ off the typical underground station box and creating a station that stands the test of time.