There should be no function without beauty. And Preston’s Bell Station — just declared one of the World’s Most Beautiful Passenger Stations — is the perfect example of how light gauge steel frames can achieve this.
When the diggers rolled in to rip out the train tracks of Melbourne’s busy Mernda line, the architects were thinking of more than just utility.
Sure, the goal was to make Victoria’s infrastructure safer as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. It’s a vast scheme aiming to remove more than 100 “dangerous and congested level crossings” across the city by 2033. And time was of the essence — Mernda trains carry 33,000 passengers each day, so minimal disruption was crucial.
But why sacrifice beauty for time? Fortunately, CMG Frames’ approach needed no such trade-off.
"Bell Station is a striking example of public infrastructure that elevates both form and function."
A Custom Light Gauge Steel Frame Façade
Embedded in a textured concrete exterior wall sits the eyecatching centrepiece of the newly renovated station — a glazed, multicoloured feature window that illuminates the stairs leading up to the raised platform.
Our custom-designed lightweight steel frames allowed us to achieve the striking architectural geometry envisioned by Wood Marsh, while maintaining the necessary structural performance. But it also achieved something almost as important — speed.
Our in-house team precision-engineered the framing system at our state-of-the-art facility in Melbourne. Then we assembled the sections in our factory downstairs before transporting them ready to install as soon as they arrived on site.
CMG Frames delivered the precision, reliability and beauty required for a major, time-constrained public infrastructure project, with results worthy of awards.
Bell Station was declared one of the World’s Most Beautiful Passenger Stations at the Prix Versailles in 2024, the only Australian project recognised at this year’s awards, held annually at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The new building also won a prize for Public Architecture at the Victorian Architecture Awards 2024.
In the sprawling expanses of Australia, level crossings become a boundary, if not a scar, when cities catch up with history. This was the case for Melbourne, where a vast urban design and landscape plan was launched. Born of the talent and imagination of the Wood Marsh studio, Bell, and Preston Stations were part of a new generation of elevated railway stations. It stands out for its concrete façade – a nod to the heritage-listed housing ringing the site – with a three-dimensional pattern representing the roofscape of the city of Darebin. Multi-coloured glass windows filter the light, spreading a gentle yet invigorating atmosphere throughout the concourse. In a blend of culture and preparedness, a public amphitheatre doubles as a flood basin. Part of Greater Melbourne, this project was by no means short on ambition, whether in terms of inclusivity or ecology, as evidenced by the many lawns and strips of native plants surrounding the entrances. This amazing structure is helping to breathe new life into the urban landscape by flawlessly embodying the concept of intelligent sustainability.
