Woods Bagot is the lead architect and urban design consultant on the project, working in collaboration with lead contractor Laing O’Rourke, architects Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick and landscape architects UDLA and TCL.

Main station ground works started last October, and they are now taking shape with Ellenbrook and Malaga Stations the furthest advanced.

Rail tracks are laid at Ellenbrook Station – final stop in the 21km line – and the station interior is rapidly evolving with the application of ochre panels to the main concourse ceiling, which echo the folded sawtooth roofline, bringing the design together.

Most impressive though is the skylight featuring a stunning 24-metre stencil artwork by by Whadjuk, Ballardong and Yamatji artist Marcia McGuire running down the centre of the high ceiling, adding delight, movement and direction to the urban commute.

Further down the railway line at Malaga Station, all primary structural steel for the main station and bus interchange is complete.  The impressive station structure rises dramatically from the Swan Coastal Plain – its form evocative of the local flora and fauna.

Staying faithful to the line-wide design vernacular, Malaga’s roofline is a variation on the jagged theme carried though all MEL stations, in this case resembling the edge of a banksia leaf.

The roof is near complete and interior work, including installation of ceiling panels, well under way. It is the first building in the future Malaga town centre, transport hub for the emerging community.

Woods Bagot Project Leader Michael Gay says the design and construction of the project has proceeded smoothly throughout the year.

“Everyone has worked extremely hard and there has been a strong culture of collaboration” says Gay. “It’s very satisfying to see the design narrative successfully translated into built form.”

The $1.1 billion project, jointly funded by the Federal and State Governments, is the most significant expansion of the Perth rail system since the Mandurah line opened in 2007.

It includes new stations at Morley, Noranda, Malaga, Whiteman Park and Ellenbrook. Patronage is expected to reach 18,000 people boarding per day by 2031.

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Martin Kelly
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