The INDE.Awards are the premier architecture and design awards across the Indo-Pacific, celebrating the most forward-thinking projects that elevate how people live, work and connect. In its 2025 edition, the program continues to recognise design excellence that unites innovation, heritage and social impact.

Within this year’s winners, Central Station by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners stands out as The Building category winner, presented in partnership with Karndean Commercial. This category honours outstanding built projects that exemplify architectural integrity, functionality and design vision.

As Sydney’s historic transport hub, Central Station forms the backbone of the city’s rail network with 96 percent of services passing through its platforms. The recent transformation represents a major milestone in modernising the city’s transport system while celebrating the architectural legacy of Walter Vernon’s original design.

Handling up to 450,000 passengers per day, the project introduces new metro and concourse insertions that are both purposeful and sculptural. These contemporary interventions complement the existing Clock Tower and vaulted Grand Concourse, preserving their heritage while creating a new spatial clarity.

The design places the passenger experience at the centre of the station’s evolution. The new Northern Concourse opens the space for improved movement and accessibility, while natural light filters deep into subterranean areas to enhance comfort and orientation. The result is a transport interchange that feels calm, connected and human in scale.

Beyond transport infrastructure, Central Station now functions as a civic heart for Sydney. It balances the functional demands of a global city with sensitivity to history, materiality and atmosphere. The design team’s approach demonstrates how infrastructure can transcend utility to create meaningful public space.

As The Building Winner at the INDE.Awards 2025, Central Station embodies design that is both technically sophisticated and deeply humane. It celebrates the evolution of a heritage icon while reaffirming architecture’s power to enhance collective experience and urban identity.

Photography
Trevor Mein