Signal Maintenance Depot
Mainco are contracted to maintain railway signals across Melbourne’s metropolitan network. This 1,100m² purpose-made building provides new facilities for the maintenance of equipment that in some cases dates from the 19th century.
Situated at the foot of the LaTrobe Street bridge, near Spencer Street, the building occupies almost the entire designated site area, which faces West to the railway tracks and Docklands stadium beyond. Below the building, as shallow as 1.0m, are the tops of three of the underground rail loop tunnels. A lightweight palette of materials was adopted mindful of the loading limits of the tunnels.
The planning is organised over two levels according to related activities: workshops and stores on the ground level, offices and amenities on the first floor. The building is conceived as a ground-floor robust industrial shell providing a base for a light-weight, transparent, pavillion-like first floor.
The site is subject to road noise from the bridge to the North and the bus route immediately to the West. Positioning stores adjacent to the roadway, and the use of double-glazing and perimeter louvers as noise barriers, will result in effective noise attenuation or buffering.
