These stunning Sydney Metro stations won big at the 2025 NSW Architecture Awards

When it first welcomed passengers back in August 2024, the new stretch of Sydney Metro sent Sydneysiders a tiny bit wild. Since then though, metro mania has somewhat died down, but there’s a new reason for hype. Our Sydney Metro city stations are now award-winning! Yep, they’ve collectively won two prestigious awards at the recently-held 2025 NSW Architecture Awards: The NSW Architecture Medallion and the Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design. 

The stations at Central, Barangaroo, Gadigal, Victoria Cross, Martin Place, Waterloo, Sydenham and Crows Nest are being celebrated as shining examples of what creativity and collaboration can achieve. After all, it has taken a multitude of Australian architecture firms, engineers, landscape designers, and public art specialists to work across inter-connected disciplines. The judges described the stations as “legacy-making” – a nod to their lasting impact on Sydney’s urban fabric. 

These stations are more than just architecturally beautiful; they represent a shift in how thoughtful infrastructure can support efficient travel as well as enhance long-term city planning, cultural expression, and better connectivity. The project has been praised for creating public spaces that are welcoming, accessible and future-focused.

In total, over 130 projects were shortlisted for the awards. Among the other notable winners was the first building in Bradfield – the city-in-the-making near our second airport in Western Sydney – which earned the Premier’s Prize.

Other notable winners at the 2025 NSW Architecture Awards include:

• Public Architecture: The Sulman Medal – Yarrila Place – BVN

• Educational Architecture: The William E Kemp Award – St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Rosebery – Neeson Murcutt Neille

• Residential Architecture – Houses: The Wilkinson Award – New Castle – Anthony St John Parsons

• Commercial Architecture: The Sir Arthur G Stephenson Award – 39 Martin Place – Tzannes

• Heritage Architecture: The Greenway Award – White Bay Power Station – Design 5 Architects with Placemaking NSW

• Urban Design: The Lloyd Rees Award – Sydney Metro City Stations – Sydney Metro

• Enduring Architecture: Moore Park Gardens – AJC Architects

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