The project will revitalise and transform Australia’s busiest commuter hub.

In 2018, Laing O’Rourke was awarded a $955 million contract to transform Sydney’s Central Station, delivering new Sydney Metro platforms beneath the station and an extensive pedestrian concourse, known as Central Walk.

Laing O’Rourke’s design team introduced initiatives to find efficiencies, dramatically reduce materials required and improve customer experience. In doing so, they offered the client greater certainty around the project and its outcomes, including outperforming on sustainability.

Designing certainty into the project

After work on the reference design, the Laing O’Rourke team brought multiple benefits, including:

• Reducing total concrete usage in the metro station box by approximately 38%, by proposing diagonal load bearing columns;
• Reducing materials by using a design solution for Central Walk which eliminated 462 low-headroom piles at platform level;
• A two-metre increase in head height on the north-south concourse for a more generous space;
• Decluttering thoroughfares by increasing column spacing from 12 to 15 metres;
• Changed services design, reducing large quantities of service ducting;
• Highly efficient water systems, including rainwater and stormwater systems;
• Renewable energy technologies such as solar technologies to eliminate smell, noise and carbon footprint from diesel-based portable light towers.

Successful delivery

The team maintained their focus on delivering the project in the most sustainable way. In May 2021, the project achieved a 6 Star Green Star Design Review rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, representing World Leadership in sustainable building design. Through this process, several outcomes were recognised, including: a 90% reduction in potable water consumption; implementation of a Climate Adaptation Plan; and a 123% total cumulative saving across 13 Life Cycle Environmental indicators (such as climate change and ozone layer depletion) associated with materials selection and operational energy efficiency, compared to a reference project.

Other key achievements to date include:

• 90% steel used to date was manufactured in Australia
• 69% of all reinforcing mesh and reinforcing bar installed on the project to date was manufactured by polymer inject technology, an energy reducing technology (exceeding contractual target)
• 52% projected non-potable water use over the infrastructure lifecycle (significantly exceeding contractual target).
• More than $15.5m has been invested in Aboriginal Participation throughout the duration of the project to date (significantly exceeding contractual target).