Now in its third year, the Holdmark Innovation Award celebrates exemplary Australian-designed projects completed in 2024 which demonstrate forward-thinking solutions to challenges faced by Australia’s urban environments.  

Woods Bagot was recognised for the redevelopment of Sydney’s Central Station in collaboration with John McAslan and Partners — a customer-first, heritage-sensitive rail interchange that has changed public perceptions about public transport — at the opening event of Sydney Design Week. 

Woods Bagot Principal and Global Sector Leader – Rail John Prentice says, “It’s been a privilege to see how we, as architects, can work through tunnels and trains and create space for design culture and places for people.”  

“This project has been elevated through the ambitious, large-scale public art program, which includes Dr Bronwyn Bancroft’s Time Travellers on the suburban platforms and Rose Nolan’s All Alongside Each Other, which creates a vibrant pathway for the new metro line.”  

The design places the user experience at the centre of Central Station’s transformation. More open spaces, such as the new Northern Concourse, significantly improve circulation and station legibility, with enhanced accessibility, permeability, and connectivity across the station’s precinct. Natural light, particularly in subterranean elements, is maximised to enhance the user experience, assisting orientation and intuitive wayfinding around the station. 

The 2025 Holdmark Innovation Award recognises and celebrates those Australian architects, engineers, urban designers and planners who strive to challenge benchmarks to achieve outstanding innovation in the built environment.   

This year’s jury comprises Sydney Design Week curator Keinton Butler; director of design excellence at Government Architect NSW Olivia Hyde; Professor Greg Morrison, School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment at Western Sydney University; chief operating officer of Holdmark Property Group Kevin Nassif, and co-director of Youssofzay Hart Belqis Youssofzay. 

View the full list of recipients here.