Sydney Metro City and Southwest Seating

The design challenge for Vert Design encompassed creating a suite of station seating for Sydney Metro’s City and Southwest stations, drawing on principles defined in their past work for the Metro North West line, to achieve elegance and continuity across the Metro stations and help elevate the overall customers travel experience. Design criteria emphasised functionality, comfort, universality and accessibility, as well as visual cohesion and relationship with the metropolitan environment and platform architecture. The goal is to foster a community-focused ambiance, addressing high passenger flow with trains departing every 4 minutes.

The solution represents an evolution of the suite initially designed for Metro North West (2016 Vert Design project), now specifically tailored for the CBD and Southwest region. Maintaining visual consistency with the Metro North West line, the design seamlessly integrates into the metropolitan environment. Vert prioritises operational efficiency and environmental impact, achieved through thoughtful material selection and use of common, replaceable parts for ease of service. The modular seating system offers versatility and comfort, accommodating two and four-person arrangements in both single-sided and back-to-back layouts, ensuring adaptability for varying needs and scenarios.

Designed for longevity, these solutions offer enduring functionality and timeless appeal, serving the community effectively. The outcome is driven by human factors, and ensures reliability and accessibility, considering disability groups and at least 90% of both people who use wheelchairs and ambulant people. Contractors benefit from a high-quality, cost-effective design prioritising longevity and durability in public spaces. Easy serviceability is ensured through standardised parts and durable materials, reducing production and maintenance expenses. Sustainably sourced Spotted Gum battens were chosen for their quality, provenance, neutrality, and ability to withstand the elements.

The seating design prioritises comfort and accessibility, adhering to Australian Standards (1428.2). Versatile configurations accommodate various station placements, including against walls, standalone, island seats, under signs, with or without armrests. The rear cross-bar frame with cantilevered seat arrangement results in clear space beneath the entire seat which improves accessibility and ease of cleaning. Retaining visual elements from previous designs, the seating is tailored for the Sydney Metro City and Southwest context. Notable visual features retained from the original Northwest design include a 316 Stainless Steel frame and custom loop armrests, and Australian Spotted Gum timber battens with a subtle slot-shaped backrest profile cutout to maintain visual harmony across the suites. It is understood that the cost of servicing significantly outweighs initial cost of purchase. The modular mounting frame facilitates easy servicing and maintenance, allowing for swappable parts without disruption to the entire assembly. The leading edge timber batten was identified as a part that is most frequently damaged, this was simplified without cutouts to reduce production cost. Spotted gum timber was chosen for its durability and thermal stability, secured with security fasteners to ensure longevity.