Flinders Street Station upgrade
Case study
An iconic Melbourne landmark, Flinders Street Station is used by more than 90,000 Victorians each day. A major revitalisation project sought to preserve the station’s historic beauty and improve functionality for current and future generations.
Project overview
Developer: City of Melbourne and Victorian Government
Architect: Lovell Chen
Builder: Built
Background
Flinders Street Station is one of Melbourne’s most recognisable landmarks. Located on the high-profile corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets in the central business district, the distinctive Edwardian building is at the heart of the city’s rail network.
Dulux played a crucial role in a $100 million state-funded upgrade completed in 2020. The project was delivered in two phases: repair and restoration to the main administration building, and works to improve the passenger experience, including improved passenger routing and amenities.
Dulux’s focus was the project management and delivery of repair and restoration works to structural and external finishes. As a heritage-listed building, these works needed to be sympathetic to the station’s original colours and finishes. The outcome was a program of works that provided a new lease of life to this much-loved feature of the Melbourne streetscape and ensured its protection into the future.
The challenge
The last major refurbishment works at Flinders Street Station was in 1995. Since then, weather, birds and other environmental factors have degraded the structure, creating the need for a revitalisation project to address these impacts and ensure the building’s longevity.
Respect for heritage involves protecting objects and places that are important to the Victorian and Australian communities. Heritage projects require adherence to specific frameworks and guidance regarding the construction, maintenance and renovation of these sites.
The station was to be restored to its original paint colour, which was applied in the early 1900s. The project architects, Lovell Chen, provided numerous paint chips from throughout the station for the Dulux team to analyse and colour-match.
The Dulux team was required to undertake ‘Avetta Training: Metro Trains Melbourne third-party induction’ to visit the worksite.
“The approach to the repainting of Flinders Street Station was to pursue a colour scheme which is as close to possible to the original treatment as could be determined [top colour palette pictured].
"The colours selected may not exactly match those originally used, but should come close to their appearance. Such colours will best reflect the presentation of the building when it opened, an event of great importance to Melbourne, and reinforce its landmark status.”
Deidre – Architect, Lovell Chen
Pictured: Flinders Street Station's original colour design in 1910 and its colour palettes over the years for the render, windows and doors, and south wall. Years from top: 1910, 1920, 1930, 1950, 1980 and 1995.
The solution
Dulux provided specifications for a variety of applications: premium paints, renders, clears for timber, concrete coatings and metal protective coatings.
The colour experts at Dulux worked to ensure consistent colour matching with the original paint colours and achieved an accurate match to the colour the station was painted when it opened. The Dulux customised colours against the Munsell comparison: Flinders Station Cream (Munsell 10YR 7/4), Flinders Station Terracotta (Munsell 10R 3/8) and Flinders Station Dark Green (Munsell 10GY 2/2).
The design was comprehensively reviewed from an operational and construction perspective so that only the most effective coating solutions were implemented and programmed.
Dulux products and systems were specified to meet the durability requirements of this important development project – including withstanding clinical cleaning regimes and harsh weather conditions – while protecting surfaces and providing aesthetic appeal.
Products specified
Dulux Protective Coatings
Primer used on new steel
Second and third coat used on new steel
Second and third coat used on new steel
New metal panels
Dulux Acratex®
Exterior façade, existing painted finish for over sound acrylic masonry, existing painted masonry with previous moulding problem
Prime and seal all masonry surfaces
Dulux
Pre-existing exterior timber window frames
Interior and exterior prepcoat for enamel topcoats
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