The Metro Tunnel Creative Program integrates sustainable practices into its projects by designing sustainably and repurposing waste products in creative ways.

Reducing waste – it’s in the bag

Where it can, the Creative Program aims for zero waste by having artists paint directly onto construction site hoardings. When that is not possible, project banners and vinyl artworks are upcycled into new products which are then given out at community events or given back to artists to sell or give away.

Step into Mario Milici’s workshop at UpShop Industries as he explains how his team take our artwork banners and hand make them into one-of-a-kind bags and bicycle panniers.

Our upcycling partnership ensures around 90% of the vinyl from our artwork hoardings lives on as new products. As of March 2024, the Metro Tunnel Creative Program has produced more than 8987 bags and 105 bike panniers from upcycled artworks, redirecting more than 4450 kilograms of vinyl away from landfill.

Designing sustainably – Albert Road Reserve pop-up park

The temporary Albert Road Reserve pop-up park was built in December 2020, to provide a gathering space for locals in the area and improve the aesthetic and green amenity of what was previously a bare and dusty space in the Anzac Precinct.

The park, which was awarded gold at the Melbourne Design awards 2022, featured timber decking, generous seating and new plantings. It was constructed from wood and steel and was planted with sustainability in mind, with minimal watering required and plantings updated seasonally as needed.

The parklet was decommissioned in November 2022 and donated to the City of Melbourne, to give the materials a longer life.

Designing sustainably – Domain Road pop-up park

The Domain Road pop-up park is designed to enhance the local area and bring residents, businesses and visitors together to eat, relax and enjoy enhanced green spaces.

Informed by a program of community consultation, the temporary design includes wooden decking, more outdoor seating and more plants. The planting was guided by horticulturalists at the Royal Botanic Gardens. The park takes over 8 to 9 car spaces along shop fronts on Domain Road.

The modules of the park were designed to fit standard sized car parks so that when Anzac Station is complete, the parklet can be reused elsewhere.

Reusing materials – Franklin Street frames

In 2020, the Metro Tunnel Creative Program commissioned Vision Australia to use recycled timber from the Metro Tunnel Project to create a series of 60 large, wooden picture frames which were attached to the construction hoardings on the Franklin Street East acoustic shed.

The team from Vision Australia cut the timber to size, removed all abnormalities and treated the frames with linseed oil to ensure they were suitable for outdoor use.

While in situ, the frames duration, the Creative Program commissioned local artists and partnered with festivals including Midsumma Festival and Melbourne Fringe Festival to provide a rotating series of artworks on the outdoor frames, until the shed was dismantled in early 2024.

Vision Australia is a leading national provider of blindness and low vision services in Australia. It works in partnership with Australians who are blind or have low vision to help them achieve the possibilities they choose in life. Woodworking is one of the many programs run by Vision Australia to allow people who are blind or have low vision to pursue activities the wider community may take for granted.

Reimagining discards – Unearthed

Eight artists were given the opportunity to create art from archaeological fragments uncovered from the Metro Tunnel dig site behind the Young Jackson Hotel.

The commissioned artists reimagined the discarded fragments – which included broken glass, shards of porcelain, wire and shells – into contemporary objects. These fragments, some of many thousands discovered during the dig, were not deemed significant enough to be retained for heritage purposes, and thus had no intrinsic historical value.

The resulting work was showcased at Craft Victoria in October 2022.

Find out more about Unearthed.