Footprints on Gadigal Nura

Footprints on Gadigal Nura responds to the challenge of creating infrastructure that genuinely reflects First Nations identity and culture. Rather than applying surface-level aesthetics, the project embeds Aboriginal culture into the station’s architecture working closely with stakeholders and through collaboration with Elders, youth, and Community. Key challenges included navigating design constraints within a major transport project while ensuring deep cultural integrity. The result disrupts the norm of passive, utilitarian infrastructure by creating a living place containing an ongoing cultural narrative. This approach sets a new precedent for design, where urban environments become platforms for truth-telling, visibility, and meaningful community connection.

This project was guided by our Country+Community methodology, centred on deep listening and co-design with Elders, youth, and Community. Through collaborative workshops, three major artworks were created, each embedded with story, language, and meaning. A 25m lenticular wall seamlessly incorporates three functional doors; 1,000 aluminium footprints are pinned to existing architecture; and a photorealistic dancer emerges through perforated aluminium, acoustic panelling. Design constraints and transport regulations demanded creative solutions, yet cultural integrity remained central. The result is an enduring cultural space that honours Connection to Country while reimagining the role of public infrastructure.

Footprints on Gadigal Nura demonstrates how infrastructure can drive cultural, social, and environmental understanding. Environmentally conscious materials and fabrication methods were used to minimise waste, while the project’s deeper sustainability lies in its cultural longevity, ensuring stories, relationships, and knowledge endure. Socially, the project empowers visibility, fosters belonging, and offers a model for truth-telling in public space. It creates opportunities for learning, reflection, and pride, for Gadigal people, Aboriginal Communities and broader audiences. The design advances understanding by embedding First Nations presence within an everyday transport experience, proving that infrastructure can serve as a platform for shared understanding.

Footprints on Gadigal Nura was shaped through a co-design process, grounded in deep Community engagement. Information sessions, emails, mail-drops, phone calls, and dedicated workshops informed every stage of the project. Elders’ handwriting and language were embedded in the 25-metre lenticular wall at the station entrance; more than 70 Community members co-created the aluminium footprints that map culturally significant sites; and youth from Brolga Dance Academy, collaborating with Jodie Choolburra-Welsh and Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam, created the dancer image, Roscoe, now rendered in photorealistic perforated acoustic panels. These acts of cultural practice and exchange were not additions they were foundational. Each element invites interaction, reflection, and connection, embedding Aboriginal cultural knowledge into the daily experience of commuters. This is placemaking as resistance, remembrance, and renewal: transforming infrastructure into a space of living culture. Cultural protocols were respected throughout, ensuring authenticity and that the works are truly authored by Community. The design team worked closely with architects, engineers, and stakeholders to integrate each piece seamlessly balancing functional requirements with deep cultural meaning. Guided by our Country+Community methodology, every element elevates living culture as a vibrant and ongoing presence. Participants received commemorative T-shirts, symbolising the lasting bonds formed through this shared journey.