Hassell celebrates Metro Tunnel completion with Melbourne’s leaders

Hassell hosted a celebratory reception last night, Thursday November 27, at Melbourne’s historic Town Hall, overlooking the newly reimagined City Square, to mark the imminent public opening of the Victorian Government’s Metro Tunnel Project. 

The event, timed to coincide with the annual Ausrail Conference, brought together key partners, collaborators, and government officials who were a part of this generational change to Melbourne’s transport network.

Guests, including Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, client Cross Yarra Partnership (CYP), and fellow design firms RSHP and WW+P Architects, gathered to celebrate the successful completion of the five new underground stations and the extensive renewal of their surrounding precincts. The project creates a second rail line beneath the city, doubling the size of the underground network and opening up critical access to Parkville’s hospitals and university, and city landmarks.

“The station designs, conceived as an ​‘open metro’, deliberately depart from conventional underground transport hubs. They emphasise natural light and a tangible connection to the city above, from the industrial brick arches of Arden to the timber ​‘pavilion in the park’ of Anzac Station”.

Ingrid Bakker, Principal, Hassell 

Mark Loughnan, Principal and Head of Design at Hassell, reflected on the achievement: ​“The opening of the Metro Tunnel is the culmination of years of considered, sustained effort. It’s the moment when the incredible work of our designers, our partners, and countless industry colleagues finally welcomes the public. We have immense pride in what we’ve built, not just the new stations but an entirely new rhythm for life and travel in Melbourne.”

The Metro Tunnel opens to passengers on 30 November, delivering new connections and revitalised public spaces, including the culturally significant City Square which features a bronze smoking dish and ceremonial area co-designed with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elders.

The Metro Tunnel Project is a collaboration between leading international architecture design practices Hassell, WW+P Architects, and RSHP. Landscape architecture by Hassell, line-wide and wayfinding by Maynard Design Consultancy, engineering by Arup, Arcadis, and WSP as part of the CYP Design and Construction (CYP D&C) Joint Venture, on behalf of the Victorian Government.