Woodhead was commissioned to design NSW State Transit’s redevelopment of the Leichhardt bus depot. The depot was operating at capacity with 98 buses and workshop activities carried out in the heritage tram shed. Growth in commuter demand requires expansion of the depot to accommodate a minimum of 200 buses by 2007/2008.
The re-development included:
− Bus wash facilities;
− Bus refuelling facilities (both CNG and diesel);
− Workshop facilities and 20 vehicle service bays;
− Car-parking for 125 cars;
− Administration building (Including staff amenities) with net floor area of approximately 1800m2.
The location of the new facility and re-use of existing heritage buildings are a result of extensive functional and site analysis by Woodhead in conjunction with STA. In total 17 options were examined.
The design features:
− Efficient and logical planning for both buses and people.
− optimises the access and topography issues of the site
− resolves issues of residential / nose adjacencies
Sustainability features include:
− Passive solar design principles to building
− Orientation and envelope
− Recycled concrete and steel in construction
− Rainwater harvesting for reuse on site
− Low VOC / emission paint
− Forest Stewardship Council Certified Timber