Discover how DDEG’s multidisciplinary team supported Wadsworth Contracting and the Cross River Rail project with innovative façade design advice and analysis at Roma Street Station in Brisbane. Our Façade Engineering team delivered a robust, buildable soffit cladding system that meets architectural design intent, strength and wind resistance standards.
About Brisbane’s Cross River Rail project
The Cross River Rail project is one of Brisbane’s most transformative transport infrastructure projects. It delivers a new 10.2 km rail line, including a 5.9 km tunnel under the Brisbane River and CBD, as well as four new underground stations.
The project addresses a long-standing bottleneck in Brisbane’s rail network, providing more frequent and reliable services that deliver the rail capacity needed to support one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities.
A clear but challenging brief
Our involvement in the project began when Wadsworth Contracting brought us in to tackle one of the project’s trickier problems. We had to ensure the soffit cladding system at Roma Street Station delivered the architectural vision while also complying with demanding project-specific criteria.
“Our job was to provide structural design advice for a standard fibre cement soffit with perforations. The panels needed to operate as an exposed rainscreen cladding, provide high levels of acoustic performance and demonstrate credible structural loading capabilities in line with stringent safety standards,” explains Trishen Thashin, DDEG’s Building Solutions Engineer who worked on the project.
Soffit cladding refers to the panels fixed to the underside of a roof overhang, canopy or similar structure. In rail stations, these panels protect the structure above from weather while improving acoustics and the look of the space for people below.
Rainscreen cladding is a durable façade system that provides layered protection from environmental factors like rain and wind. Typical rainscreens prevent water from reaching the internal structure but still allowing trapped moisture to escape.
Blast resistance is an engineering standard measuring a facade or cladding system’s ability to withstand the pressure and force of a possible explosive event, an increasingly important standard in high-traffic public spaces.
Advanced structural analysis from the start
Our approach was methodical and evidence-based. We used finite element analysis (FEA) from the outset. This advanced digital modelling lets engineers test how a design will perform under different types of loading conditions before anything gets built.
“FEA allowed us to assess the impact of the perforation pattern required for acoustics and aesthetics, and to optimise the design for both safety and practicality,” says Jack Huyn, Associate Façade Engineer.
Overcoming engineering hurdles
One of the main challenges was balancing the open perforation pattern for acoustic and aesthetic purposes with the need for structural strength.
Perforations reduce panel stiffness, so rather than going with thicker panels that would have been more expensive and harder to build, we optimised fixing layouts and verified performance through advanced FEA modelling.
Another challenge was ensuring compliance with blast load criteria without overcomplicating the design or delaying the program.
Lessons for the next big challenge
Cross River Rail is proof that having the right people work together from the outset leads to the strongest and most efficient results. Early analysis and collaboration with the construction team from the design stage saves time and costs, helping to achieve safety, compliance and ease of installation, with fewer surprises along the way.
If you need specialist façade advice for your next project, get in touch to see how DDEG’s integrated team can deliver practical, efficient, robust outcomes.