Of Melbourne Metro’s five new stations, Town Hall stands apart for its sense of grandeur.
Anchored in one of the busiest parts of the Melbourne CBD, framed by St Paul’s Cathedral and Melbourne Town Hall, the pavilion opens onto a generous public square; just moments below ground, the main hall has the scale and drama of a cathedral – more like a grand civic space than a typical underground interchange.
On Saturday, Maynard’s Kate Pleban will lead a walking tour at Town Hall Station as part of the programme for Melbourne Design Week. Organised by Tim Dow and Stephanie Mulder, founders of Mosey Guide, the trail will take in several iconic stops – from Hector’s Deli to MECCA Bourke Street – and uncover the creative thinking behind each place.
The tour is built around a central idea: that design plays a pivotal role in shaping memorable and lasting places and experiences – impacting environments, influencing behaviour, and ensuring an enduring legacy for our city’s identity and future.
"Journeys from the airport to the city centre, and the hotel or venue beyond, should present to passengers an invitation rather than an obstacle."
Where does the airport experience actually start and end? For a city that prides itself on liveability, Melbourne still lacks any direct train to the tarmac.
In our new editorial brochure on aviation, Kate Pleban unpacks one of the top stress points for passengers: the 'simple' journey to and from the airport.
Catch her article at the link in bio.
‘There is no such thing as international best practice.’
Last week, at Interchange in Manchester, Julian Maynard delivered a keynote on infrastructure as identity.
Looking back on his early design days, and work with Roland Paoletti on the Jubilee Line Extension, Julian explained how the convergence of passenger experience and architectural ambition shape a memorable sense of arrival and strong civic culture.
Touching on Maynard’s work in transport around the world, from the design of walking and cycling routes in the city of Auckland to cultural storytelling on Sydney’s metro, Julian emphasised that ‘best practice’ has to be local.
It’s about leading with teams on the ground, from that city and invested in its future. It’s about designing a sense of place through genuinely civic architecture, or artwork and interpretive signage on the move.
As Julian concludes: these details matter. How often do we judge a city or country by its experience of arrival, and the journey onwards?
We’re en route to Manchester Central and, this week, liveability is top of mind.
At Interchange we’re hosting a roundtable on the next generation of liveable cities, asking how transport infrastructure can better connect communities, deliver lasting social value, and improve quality of life at scale.
For Manchester, our discussion is pretty timely; an excellent piece by Faisal Islam on the northern city as a model for kickstarting growth has been published by the BBC.
As Faisal explains, impressively, Manchester has managed a reversal in the trend of educated young northerners making the journey 'down south'. In 2024, 13,000 Londoners moved to Greater Manchester, more than the 11,800 making what was the more typical journey the other way.
It’s a subject we’ll be tackling with experts from Transport for Greater Manchester, Connected Places Catapult, Campaign for Better Transport, and more.
We’re also in the process of putting together a special report on mobility and liveable cities, which will be published in the coming weeks. If you’ve got something to contribute – be it research, a case study, or a thought piece – or you’d like to know more about what we’re up to, please get in touch with Zac Procter ([email protected]).
Next week we’re headed to Interchange. Will we see you there?
Fresh off our event that looked to the future of Melbourne’s infrastructure, we’re turning our attention to Manchester next – where we’ll be hosting a roundtable on liveable cities.
Convening experts from Transport for Greater Manchester, Connected Places Catapult, Campaign for Better Transport, and more, we’ll ask how ambitious, multi-modal networks can better connect communities, deliver lasting social value, and improve quality of life at scale.
You can catch our team on the ground, at stand 11 on the exhibitor floor, or tune in to Julian Maynard’s keynote on infrastructure as identity. Reflecting on his early design days in Manchester, he’ll discuss how the convergence of passenger experience and architectural ambition shape a memorable sense of arrival and stronger civic culture.
Interchange is the UK’s annual meeting place for leaders delivering an integrated, decarbonised, and resilient transport future. We’re excited to be part of the programme.
Reach out to Zac Procter ([email protected]) if you’d like to meet up or learn more about what we’ve got planned.
It’s been all systems go since the full capacity opening of Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel at the start of February.
We’ve heard from commuters and communities alike on how the new network is already reshaping their day, and last week we hosted an event to question what exactly comes next.
Professor Mark Stevenson from the University of Melbourne, and Luke Flanagan from the City of Melbourne joined Maynard’s Kate Pleban for a conversation – hosted by Zac Procter – that covered ambitious projects like Melbourne’s ongoing Greenline, before interrogating initiatives to improve the city’s liveability.
As our panellists conclude, when it comes to infrastructure, the decade after opening is far more important than the opening day itself.
Transport policy is health policy and a healthy city is one where access, mobility, and connection are taken seriously – within the inner city and beyond it.
Thanks to all our clients and partners, many of whom were collaborators on this project for close to a decade, who showed up to mark the occasion with us.
We look forward to what’s next for Melbourne and the team is proud to play our part in this city’s story.
#metrotunnelproject #melbourne
“It’s an evolution of the traditional town square – only now that town square might be partially underground.”
Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel has officially opened at full capacity, and more than 800,000 passengers have already visited the five brand new stations.
Kate Pleban, Director at Maynard, and Avtar Lotay, Managing Director at RSHP Australia, spoke to Andrew Tuck on Monocle Radio to commemorate the milestone.
For Melburnians, this is an ‘open metro’ like no other, with generous civic spaces conceived as far more than simply stations. They are a gateway to the city’s fabric – welcome meeting points, cultural gathering places, and everyday landmarks that celebrate fresh air, community, and distinct urban character.
As Kate explains, “Melbourne is now part of that global conversation around how infrastructure can be used, not just to move people efficiently, but to bring fresh energy and identity to a city.”
Thank you to Andrew Tuck and David Stevens for facilitating an engaging conversation about the future of Melbourne.
Listen to the episode at the link in bio.
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The Metro Tunnel Project is a collaboration between leading international architecture design practices Hassell, WW+P Architects, and RSHP. Landscape architecture by Hassell, line-wide and wayfinding by Maynard Design Consultancy, engineering by Arup, Arcadis, and WSP as part of the CYP Design and Construction (CYP D&C) Joint Venture comprising Bouygues Construction, John Holland and Lendlease, on behalf of the Victorian Government. Image credit: Peter Bennetts.
Liverpool Street Station deserves a future that builds on its past.
It’s been great to see some real momentum gathering behind our alternative vision for London’s Liverpool Street Station, led by John McAslan + Partners.
Realising an alternative to current plans, the collaborative vision for repurposing the existing fabric of the station shows that essential accessibility and capacity upgrades can be delivered without significant demolition or disruption.
From coverage in ITV News to a letter in this weekend's The Times, our proposal has been backed by SAVE Britain's Heritage and Twentieth Century Society, alongside a number of prominent industry voices.
Authors of the letter urge the City of London to "consider alternative approaches to upgrading this magnificent grade II-listed station without destroying what makes it so special."
We're pleased to be playing a part in this vision, alongside Momentum Transport Consultancy, Expedition Engineering Ltd, Eden Project, and TargetZero Group.
Image credit: John McAslan + Partners.
This week we’re on the ground in Riyadh, representing a delegation of Australian businesses on behalf of the Government of New South Wales, Australia.
With Investment NSW, we’re part of Big 5 Construct Saudi 2026, an event supporting the Kingdom’s major infrastructure expansion and aligning closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
In amongst meeting clients and partners, both old and new, so far we’ve been lucky enough to stop by major cultural spots like Diriyah (pictured), and checked out our recently completed work on the signage and wayfinding across Riyadh Metro.
Tomorrow, we'll head to Sports Boulevard. Any further recommendations while we’re here?
Image credit: Royal Commission for Riyadh.
“This is a project that’s special to us at Maynard not just because of the impact it will have on the city, but because it allowed us to open our first studio in Australia – back in 2017.”
Melbourne’s newly opened Metro Tunnel is close to a decade in the making, led by practices Hassell, RSHP, and WW+P Architects, with Maynard on line-wide industrial design and wayfinding.
“It seems only yesterday we were working on that early bid stage, camping out in each other’s offices late into the night,” explains our founder, Julian Maynard.
“Back then, we had a vision to design more than simply metro stations – but rather civic buildings with unprecedented space and natural light, guiding people through to the subterranean platforms. We called them streets beneath streets, due to their scale.”
Kicking of 2026, it's been rewarding for our team to see the first passengers exploring the five brand new stations – after so many years of sketches, prototypes, and problem solving along the way.
The Metro Tunnel is part of a brand-new legacy for Melbourne’s public transport network – and this is only the start.
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The Metro Tunnel Project is a collaboration between leading international architecture design practices Hassell, WW+P Architects, and RSHP. Landscape architecture by Hassell, line-wide and wayfinding by Maynard, engineering by Arup, Arcadis, and WSP as part of the CYP Design and Construction (CYP D&C) Joint Venture comprising Bouygues Construction, John Holland and Lendlease, on behalf of the Victorian Government.
Image credit: Peter Bennetts
It’s been quite the year for all of us at Maynard.
Just last month we saw the first passengers exploring Melbourne’s brand-new metro stations, opened after almost a decade in the making. We’ve travelled to meet with partners, new and old – from immersing ourselves in the heritage of the ancient oasis city of AlUla to checking out our work on Saadiyat Island, in Abu Dhabi’s emerging cultural district. And within our cities we’ve been developing and testing modular street furniture and cycle parking solutions to keep neighbourhoods safe, social, and well connected.
Spending time on site, or seeing our products crafted in factories, it’s our curiosity and commitment to quality that’s driven us forward. We’ve enjoyed connecting with universities and leaders in technology to push our innovation further than ever.
As we close out 2025, we’d like to thank the clients and partners who have worked with us to deliver another year of creative ventures.
With plenty on the horizon for 2026, we look forward to continued collaboration – bringing thoughtful design to the opportunities ahead.
Abu Dhabi’s annual Art Fair has just wrapped.
With a diverse cultural offer and wide-ranging public engagement programme – rooted in local people, heritage, and landscape – the Gulf is fast becoming a leading destination for art and expression.
Projects like the Saadiyat Cultural District are an architectural embodiment of the nation’s legacy investment in culture – cemented in the very fabric of cities.
Alongside the Louvre Abu Dhabi and soon-to-arrive Guggenheim, Abrahamic Family House is a distinctive interfaith centre for learning, dialogue, and all-important social exchange.
Delivering cohesive products, wayfinding, and a multi-lingual identity, Maynard’s sensitive, context-rich design approach for the site is in keeping with Abu Dhabi’s cultural ambition – ensuring visitors can navigate, learn, and connect with these destinations, regardless of language or background.
It was great to hear Georgina Godwin and Yassmin Abdel-Magied discussing the emerging district on Monocle Radio, emphasising “the importance of these museums as sites of memory – the re-engagement with a country’s identity.”
Following the opening of a Natural History Museum, an announcement that Frieze is expanding into the Gulf, and that Design Miami will launch in Dubai, it’s clear there’s even more on the horizon.
We’re looking forward to what comes next.
Read more of Monocle’s take on Abu Dhabi at the link in bio.
Pictured above: Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Abrahamic Family House, Louvre Abu Dhabi by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Natural History Museum by Mecanoo.
#culture #saadiyatisland #abudhabiartfair
