Deer Park Station has topped the 2025 National Landscape Architecture Awards, recognised for its stunning native gardens showcasing the area’s rich cultural history.
Built as part of the Mt Derrimut Road level crossing removal in 2023, the Deer Park Station forecourt was designed to complement a protected ecological zone for remnant grasslands and habitat for local fauna.
The award jury commented that the project protected the landscape through engagement with community, while also fulfilling the safety and movement needs of a train station.
“Integrated cultural references in the design brings an added dimension to the outcome, allowing stories of the place to be shared with commuters,” the jury stated.
The landscaping was designed on behalf of the Level Crossing Removal Project, by architects Hassell, in collaboration with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation Elders Aunty Gail Smith and Aunty Julieanne Axford.
It is based on the “layers of Country”, a set of stories told by the Elders that recognise Bunjil the Great Creator Spirit, who usually takes the form of a wedge-tailed eagle, as the creator of all layers of Country.
Deer Park Station is one of the most sustainable new station precincts in Australia and includes Victoria’s first roof top garden on a station building.
The rooftop features a mix of native plants to add to the area’s biodiversity, and has been designed to reduce the heat island effect of the station buildings, reduce storm water runoff, and improve water quality.
Across the precinct, more than 50,000 new trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted, with three giant boulders standing as a monument to the history of Deer Park.
Weighing between seven and 10 tonnes, the large boulders point towards well-known mountains, including the You Yangs to the south-west, Mt Disappointment to the north-east and Mt Macedon to the north-west.
These mountains were used for navigation since before colonisation and are part of Indigenous creation stories.
The modern and accessible new station precinct includes lift access to both platforms, an air-conditioned waiting room, new station forecourt, bus interchange and new and upgraded car parks, making it easier than ever for locals to access public transport.
The Mt Derrimut Road boom gates were down for up to 60 per cent of the morning peak, causing congestion and delays for the more than 23,000 vehicles that passed through the crossing every day.
