From Underground to Skyline: The Sydney Metro Transformation

Sydney’s new Metro does more than change how people move—it signals how Australia’s cities will grow, connect and live in the decades ahead. Among the practices shaping this shift is Foster + Partners, founded by Lord Norman Foster, whose work has influenced cities from London to Hong Kong. In Sydney, the British architecture and design firm has been part of the story for 25 years, bringing an integrated approach to sustainability and civic design. ▲ Foster + Partners’ 30 St Mary Axe in London, known as ‘the Gherkin’, redefined the modern highrise with its aerodynamic, energy-efficient form. For Sydney Metro, the practice played a pivotal role—masterplanning the central section of the 30km City and Southwest line and designing Gadigal Station ( pictured top ) and the 39-storey Parkline Place sitting above it, conceived as a single civic experience linking platform and skyline. Inside its Sydney studio on Level 27 of Parkline Place—the Investa-developed tower directly above the new station—practice partners architect Muir Livingston and urban designer Theo Malzieu discuss infrastructure made for people, not process. “The Metro isn’t just a piece of transport,” Livingston says. “It’s a civic space where access, art and movement come together. You want people to feel part of the city, not just passing through.” ▲ Parkline Place rises above Gadigal Station at 252 Pitt Street as an integrated project by Foster + Partners. Far below their office, trains run through 15.5km of twin-tunnel rail beneath Sydney Harbour and the city. On Level Two, Civic Vision —the first Foster + Partners exhibition in the southern hemisphere—brings together six decades of projects, tracing how its ideas on structure, light and sustainability have evolved. Building the civic connection Foster + Partners’ role in the City and Southwest line runs deep. Since 2017, the practice has helped masterplan the central section, shaping stations from Crows Nest to Waterloo and leading design of Gadigal and Barangaroo. ▲ Muir Livingston, partner at Foster + Partners, who led design and delivery for the Sydney Metro stations at Gadigal and Barangaroo. It’s the first time the studio has delivered an underground station and the tower above as one integrated piece, aligning architecture, engineering and urban design. “For us, it was a milestone,” Malzieu says. “We’ve worked on metro systems elsewhere, but here we could finally bring everything together—structure, movement, light, people.” Designing for equality At Gadigal Station, the design guides movement like choreography—each element supporting clarity and equality. A V-shaped opening pulls daylight deep into the concourse, while lifts and escalators sit side by side so everyone shares the same route. “In older systems, people with prams or wheelchairs get sent off to a back lift,” Livingston says. “Here, everyone moves together.” ▲ Callum Morton’s tiled mural brings colour and depth to Gadigal Station ( left ), while Tomás Saraceno’s The Seeds of Flight floats in the lobby of Parkline Place. Sydney Metro’s public art program also shaped the experience. “You can see the tiled artwork by Callum Morton from the street,” he says. “Even if you’re not catching a train, it’s part of the civic landscape. It belongs to everyone.” Walls of split-face local sandstone ground the concourse in the city’s material language and light. Above, the tower continues the connection. Its triple-height lobby houses The Seeds of Flight—116 tetrahedrons of cotton and carbon fibre by Tomás Saraceno, suspended in shifting daylight. “It reminds you the building and station are part of the same atmosphere—connected to the air, the light, the people,” Malzieu says. A tower above, a network below Designed by the same team and developed by Investa for Oxford Properties and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, the 55,743sq m Parkline Place tower provides workspace for about 4000 people across 39 storeys, with five basements and a height of 176m above Pitt Street. ▲ A street-level view of Gadigal Station and Parkline Place, where the Metro meets the city above. “When you build directly over a station, you create the ultimate civic connection,” Livingston says. “You’re building density where infrastructure supports it. That’s sustainability—and good city-making.” Material choices root the tower in place: local sandstone, bronze-toned aluminium, brass detailing, granite floors and Victorian ash ceilings. The base building runs on 100 per cent renewable electricity, supported by solar panels and electric heat-pumps, behind a high-performance facade. Parkline Place achieves 6 Star Green Star Design, targets 6 Star As Built, WELL Platinum and a pre-committed 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating. End-of-trip facilities include 200 bicycle spaces and 32 showers, while parking is capped at 37 cars to encourage active transport. Captured rainwater supplies non-potable uses, and recycled finishes—blinds and carpets made from sea plastics—complete the loop. “The Metro changed the brief for the city,” Malzieu says. “It’s no longer about transport alone, it’s about how we live, work and connect above it.” Shaping Sydney’s built identity After studying at the University of Edinburgh, Livingston joined Foster + Partners in 1995, working on Canary Wharf Underground Station in London and later contributing to major transport schemes including Florence High-Speed Rail Station in Italy. ▲ Deutsche Bank Place in Sydney, completed in 2005, was designed by Foster + Partners and rises 169m to the roof and 240m to its spire tip. His Sydney story began in 2005 with Deutsche Bank Place on Phillip Street. Time abroad followed—Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah Metro in Saudi Arabia—before returning to lead Salesforce Tower and the final phases of Central Park. “It’s about making places that are technically advanced but still human,” he says. Malzieu sees a city maturing fast. “It’s a tough, design-literate place,” he says. “But that’s what makes it exciting. Every project has to justify itself in terms of public benefit.” ▲ The Great Court at the British Museum, completed in 2000, transformed the museum’s inner courtyard with Europe’s largest covered public square. The next stage of connection For both partners, the Metro sets a foundation for Australia’s next chapter. “We’ve been working a lot on improving connectivity within cities,” Livingston says. “The next challenge is connecting them … Newcastle, Central Coast, further north.” Australia’s coastal concentration makes this both challenge and opportunity. “It’s doable,” he says. “But it needs to happen sustainably, expanding access to affordable housing without endless sprawl.” “The answer isn’t sprawl,” Malzieu adds. “It’s smarter density—linking transport, housing and landscape into one sustainable vision.” Civic Vision and the global story Downstairs, Civic Vision brings this philosophy to life. The exhibition ( pictured below )—the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere—charts six decades of Foster + Partners’ work across three themes: Community + Culture, Living + Working, and Planning + Mobility. Delete In London, the Gherkin’s aerodynamic form cut energy use and reframed the tall building, while the Millennium Bridge stitched the city back to the Thames. In Hong Kong, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters opened the corporate tower to daylight and community decades ahead of its time. The show ranges from civic landmarks—the Great Court at the British Museum, Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, Datong Art Museum in China—to contemporary projects such as the House of Wisdom in Sharjah, the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial in London and the Vatican Chapel in Venice. ▲ The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters, completed in 1985, pioneered flexible, naturally lit office design. It also traces the evolution of workplace and residential design: Bloomberg’s Stirling Prize-winning London headquarters, Ombú in Madrid and Sydney’s own sequence—Deutsche Bank Place, Lumiere Apartments, Salesforce Tower and now Parkline Place above Gadigal. “Stations are such an important part of how cities work,” Livingston says. “You don’t want to hide them—they should feel like the street continues into the underground.” ▲ The falcon wing inspired Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi celebrates the life and legacy of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. A city to believe in Back in the studio, sunlight floods through the glazing while trains move more than 100m beneath their feet. “It’s a very pretty city,” Malzieu says. “We take it for granted, but when you travel and come back, you realise how good it is here.” ▲ Ombú in Madrid, a former 1905 gas-plant transformed by Foster + Partners into a high-sustainability office space, officially opened in 2022. Livingston smiles. “Let’s not tell too many people.” Then, more seriously: “It’s changing how cities in Australia think about infrastructure—it’s the next stage of public transport, joining the cities.” Sydney’s new Metro—its stations, towers and civic spaces—signals more than infrastructure. It’s the next step in designing a city for people, not just movement. Foster + Partners Civic Vision is open daily from 9am-6pm until December 21 on Level 2, 252 Pitt Street, Sydney. TUD+ members: Join us for an exclusive site tour of Parkline Place and the Civic Vision Exhibition on Wednesday, October 29. Book now .

From Underground to Skyline: The Sydney Metro Transformation

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