Over-station development at Waterloo Metro on exhibition with major changes

The $960 million Waterloo Metro Quarter (WMQ) development, which is currently partially under construction above the recently completed Sydney Metro station, is on exhibition on the NSW government's major projects planning portal with significant changes to the proposed building uses and forms in the northern and central parts of the site.

The newly advertised state significant development application is the third iteration of a concept plan for the Waterloo Metro Quarter precinct being developed by Mirvac in partnership with John Holland. In December 2019, a concept application proposing a mix of residential, commercial and retail uses by Hassell, Woods Bagot, Bates Smart and Aileen Sage was approved following an earlier scheme by Turner and Turf Design. However, in 2021, the concept was amended to include modified building envelopes, allowing greater flexibility for commercial development.

Due to what the planning consultant Urbis describes as "a shift in Sydney's commercial, housing and construction markets," the latest proposal marks a move away from commercial office use toward residential and co-living uses across the north and central precinct. It involves updates to two different schemes by Woods Bagot, and Bates Smart and Aileen Sage, with landscape design across the precinct by Aspect Studios.

According to Woods Bagot's design report, the precinct "is an opportunity to create a neighbourhood of diverse and dynamic building forms to reflect and intensify the richness of the local Waterloo vernacular."

In the north, their design for a 17-storey commercial building that was approved in 2021 is proposed instead as two residential towers, 21 and 24 storeys high, returning the proposal to the original height granted in 2019. Together, the towers comprise 314 apartments, of which 39 are affordable dwellings.

According to the architect, the proposed development "draws its architectural language from the area's rich industrial heritage and layered natural history," with a finely detailed brick podium referencing the surrounding warehouse typology and the rust-hued metal and glass towers above adopting a double-height facade framework.

The scheme integrates directly with the recently opened Metro station, incorporating a bridged link between the station rooftop and the top of the four-storey mixed-use commercial podium. At this level, extensive landscaped open space surrounds the proposed residential amenity, including a gym and a communal lounge.

The bridge spans a new public pedestrian link on the ground floor, named Raglan Walk, which runs north-south through the precinct and connects to the central Cope Street Plaza, currently under construction.

Also under the current plans, Hassell and Aileen Sage's previous scheme for an approved 24-storey residential tower opposite the plaza has been replaced with a $113 million student co-living tower of the same height, designed by Bates Smart and Aileen Sage.

The design comprises 500 studios across 20 storeys, with communal indoor and outdoor amenities at various levels, above a three-storey podium with a childcare centre and retail tenancies. The project abuts the state-heritage-listed Waterloo Congregation Church to the south, creating a strong material contrast with a terracotta-and-glazed-blue-tiled podium facade.

Bates Smart and Aileen Sage's design report notes that the vision for the proposal, guided by Murawin Consulting in consultation with the community, references the idea of a kangaroo or possum skin cloak, traditionally worn for warmth and protection. The patchwork of facade types is conceptually "sewn together" across the podium to respond to the different climatic and functional requirements of the spaces within; the tower concept builds on this narrative with "weft and warp" weaving practices that inspire the design of horizontal and vertical elements.

In the precinct's south, two residential towers - a 25-storey tower for student accommodation and a nine-storey building for social housing, both designed by Bates Smart - are currently under construction.

The amended concept for WMQ is on exhibition alongside the modified proposals for the northern and central precincts.