Subscribe to RSSNewmarket Station Wins Award
Newmarket’s railway station, open for business early last year, has been judged one of the country’s best new buildings.
The building has won an award in the Urban Design category at the prestigious annual New Zealand institute of Architects awards.
The judges said:
“On a technically demanding site, the Architects have skilfully handled the programme to produce an urban room that uplifts the journey for the city’s rail users.”
The award goes to Opus Architecture and Herriot +Melhuish: Architecture in association.
Opus image of what was envisaged
Is this your favourite of the new stations?
I go hot and cold about Newmarket. Love the structure but - talking of temperatures - find the interior cold. So typically of Auckland infrastructure projects, it feels as if in the end it ran out of money as shown by its completely inadequate portaloo-type toilet arrangements that do not suit a major city transport hub.
I’m disappointed the New Lynn project does not rate a mention as that is a true transport hub catering for buses and trains.
12 Comments
Meh, i don’t mind the structure not having much character, many modern stations i know don’t.
However a couple of palms might along the middle of the platforms might cheer the place up.
I agree that the interior is a bit cold and dull. Better than many other stations though. If only there more were like this one…
Anthony - palms would be a big issue once the wires are strung up, there is far to much risk of them touching the wires. Anyway I think it is good to have some more urban type spaces, greenery is good doesn’t have to be everywhere.
It is a excellent station that made use of very little space.
It has exemplary seating unlike all other Auckland stations including Britomart and its quite arty and user friendly as well.
Well deserved award.
I fell in love with the New Lynn Transport Centre design, looks great! I don’t like Newmarket as much although I congratulate, well deserved award and happy when easily travelling through. When I compare various transport hubs and stations in London and around Europe, Auckland as a whole with its decent, clean, simple and stylish ones still wins!
Andrej - I think that in general Auckland has done well with its stations, they look good and while we could improve some things (like the size of the shelters on some stations), overall we should be pretty proud about how the rail network is starting to look. Britomart, Newmarket and New Lynn are all excellent.
Britomart, Newmarket and New Lynn. Three stations, 38 other stations. I would like to see Manurewa station fully covered. I don’t use it but so many do and the trench it is in, makes it easier to cover than others.
Newmarket is great, it’s let down by the ghastly entrance from Broadway however. Fantastic station hidden down what looks like a back alley.
does anyoneelse think it’s not the best having a middle track with platforms either side? i can see there is space issues but only 3 tracks into that 2nd busiest station is a bit crazy
@rtc the broadway entrance could, should, easily be fixed by removing the small single shop building that used to have Camper shoes in it right next to the miserable, easy-to-miss alley.
@San Luca The while thing with Newmarket is the narrowness of the site, every scrap of land outside of the bare minimum for three tracks [including the thin air above!] was sold by those geniuses at Fay Richwhite when it was handed to them to asset strip by an earlier [National] govt’s sale programme. Go the invisible hand of the market- always knows best for all. Gang. Rape.
[...] at the award-winning station is a good time to revisit the adjacent far-from-award-winning square, which is an example of what [...]
@Patrick - it seems that that project has finally re-emerged, council bought the buildings to the left a long time ago but the whole project seemed to have been canned. It’s good to hear that the council plans to proceed.