Project Credit

Client
Transport for NSW
D&C Contractor
CPB Contractors
Structural, Civil & Facade
Engineer
Taylor Thomson Whitting

CONSULT AUSTRALIA AWARDS FOR

Geotechnical & Tunnel
Engineer

EXCELLENCE 2017 Pells Sullivan Meynink

Architect
Woods Bagot
Design Innovation
Wynyard Walk, Sydney, NSW Project Value
$306 million
Photo Copyright @ Trevor Mein
 3
4 3
6 5 1 Margaret
Street
2
N 1

Railway Fig 1 - Wynyard Walk

House Components:
1 - Railway House
2 - Clarence Street entry Building
3 - Pedestrian tunnel
4 - Western Portal
5 - Plaza
6 - Bridge

1. Description of the Innovation

Wynyard Walk is a major pedestrian infrastructure undertaken by Transport
for NSW, connecting the existing Wynyard Train Station to the new
Barangaroo waterfront precinct and Sydney CBD western corridor. This
extremely complex design and construction project, located just beneath the
surface of Sydney’s Central Business District, opened to the public in late
2016. Components consist of a new civic entry building for Wynyard Station,
a pedestrian tunnel, a western tunnel portal, a plaza and a bridge spanning
Sussex Street.
Figure 2: Railway House looking from York Street

Highly constrained environments were inherent in the project – particularly

for the Wynyard Station Connection and Wynyard Walk Pedestrian Tunnel Railway House
components, where there was shallow cover above and close proximity to This 14-Storey 1920’s heritage listed art deco building located directly above
several high-rise buildings, roads, and underground services. Wynyard Train Station is constructed with a fragile terracotta tile façade that
has essentially zero tolerance to movement. Excavation for the Wynyard
The purpose of the tunnel is to provide pedestrians with a safe, swift, and Station connection required the transfer and underpinning of 12 existing
efficient method of movement between Wynyard Station and the expanding Railway House columns.
areas of Barangaroo and the western CBD corridor. To achieve this purpose,
the objective was to unlock previously unusable land beneath the city to
deliver a large free flowing space that maximises the customer experience,
while minimising the impact on existing infrastructure and buildings. In
order to provide the most direct and level pedestrian route, the tunnel
and excavations pass beneath two significant buildings – Railway House
and One Margaret Street – raising particular constraints that needed to be
addressed.
 2. Objectives of the Application of the Innovation

In applying innovative solutions to this project, Taylor Thomson Whitting and

Pells Sullivan Meynink sought to realise the development of a design that
would address the numerous project challenges and constraints, including:

• Achieving a final tunnel geometry that economically maximises

One Margaret Street
This 20-storey office tower has
a three-level basement car park
located in the direct path of the
Wynyard Walk Tunnel with only
a metre from the tunnel crown
to the base of the building’s
footings.
underground space and provides the desired pedestrian experience.
• Respecting the heritage status of Railway House.
• Accommodating all existing building loads above and around the tunnel.
• Keeping ground and building movements below strict contract-imposed
settlement limits.
• Minimising disruption to the public and stakeholders by keeping buildings
fully operational throughout the works.
• Developing a buildable solution in a highly-constrained environment below
ground.

Figure 3: One Margaret Street

The successful design of these complex works was the result of a

collaborative effort between Taylor Thomson Whitting (experts in building
structures) and Pells Sullivan Meynink (geotechnical and tunnelling experts),
utilising fully coupled Ground-Structure Interaction Behaviour analysis. This
design approach enabled the achievement of project objectives that would
otherwise have proven unfeasible. The innovative site investigation, designs,
and construction phase monitoring, not only achieved the project objectives,
but improved upon precedent and the reference design to deliver an optimal
outcome for the client and stakeholders, by:

• Achieving negligible settlement of Railway House.

• Removing underpinning from the tunnelling works below One Margaret
Street and minimising the works within privately owned property.
• Continued operation of both buildings without disruptions, despite the Figure 4: Railway House Transfer and Underpinning Works Overview
numerous challenges of construction occurring below.

Figure 5: One Margaret Street Works Overview
From an early stage of the design process, it was clear that the best way to
address all the constraints concurrently while providing the optimal project
outcome, was to adopt an innovative Ground-Structure Interaction design
approach. This approach used the full-strength contribution of both the
ground and structure in the engineering design, thereby allowing space to
be maximised, and building settlements to be minimised.
3. Description of the Design Innovation
The location and existing built environment components involved in this
project are unique, and the solutions to address their inherent challenges
and constraints needed a high degree of creativity and innovation to secure
an ideal design solution.
For both the Railway House and One Margaret Street transfer and
tunnelling works, specific innovations included:
• Analysis using advanced and combined structural and geotechnical
software to fully consider the ground-structure interaction behaviour of the
designs, allowing the effect of the buildings on the ground to be understood
and vice versa.
• Due to the significant regions of non-flexural behaviour around encased
columns, the transfer beams’ reinforcement was designed using an
innovative linear elastic stress analysis methodology that quantified
orthogonal reinforcement from the assessed finite element stresses. This
resulted in a more efficient distribution of reinforcement as compared to
conventional concrete design.
• Optimising the reference design and improving on precedent by keeping
new structural works fully within building basements, to minimise disruption.
• Use of the Slimline Optical Televiewer, which is a high-resolution borehole
camera to precisely identify and monitor ground conditions beneath critical
foundations, thereby eliminating ground condition risks during construction
and providing certainty of design and program. This downhole camera was
different to the typical Optical Televiewer (OTV) and Acoustic Televiewer
(ATV) imaging undertaken in the geotechnical industry, because it provided
a 360 degree high-resolution photograph of the borehole wall, removing the
uncertainty that is often involved with interpretation of borehole imaging.

Figure 6: Railway House Real-Time Settlement Monitoring
• Specification and implementation of real time settlement monitoring
systems to continually monitor settlement of the buildings and allow
construction to respond to any movement that was observed. This was a
high precision system (accuracy better than 0.5 mm) which provided data to
a web interface in real time, and also featured automatically generated alerts
by email and SMS. This system was key in demonstrating management
of the effects of the works to stakeholders, and providing feedback to the
designers and builder during construction.
• Use of a fully integrated three-dimensional Building Information Model
(BIM) to develop concept designs – identifying constraints and the best
places to accommodate building loads in, on, and around the tunnel and
excavations.
Figure 7: Underground ‘Y-intersection’ in the tunnel –
Installing three-dimensional reinforcement
For the One Margaret Street works, specific design innovations included:
• A reinforced concrete post-tensioned transfer beam structure within the
existing basement, which picked up the loads from existing building
columns directly over the tunnel crown, spanned them across the tunnel,
and relocated them onto the tunnel sidewalls where the rock had adequate
capacity and impacts on the tunnel were minimised.
• A design that avoided costly and time-consuming underpinning works
that were the typical solution in similar underbuilding circumstances and on
which the reference design was based.
• Modelling and design of the tunnel temporary and permanent support and
tunnel excavation sequence to ensure that, once the in-basement transfer
structure was complete, the tunnel could progress beneath the building
without having to undertake further works within the basement.
• The underground ‘Y-intersection’ in the Wynyard Walk tunnel was a
three-dimensional reinforced concrete structure, with load response
behaviour that changed throughout the construction. Initially functioning as
a two-dimensional arch, the concrete structure was then required to act as a
three-dimensional ‘shell’ to allow a large-span breakout of the tunnel through
one of the sidewalls. To investigate, analyse and design this complex
structure, advanced three-dimensional numerical modelling was combined
with an innovative ‘sandwich’ model, which optimised the reinforced
concrete design well beyond what would be possible with two-dimensional
design approaches.
 For the Railway House works, 4. Outcomes of the
specific design innovations Design Innovation
included:

• Innovative system of large Specifically, the outcomes of

diameter stacked flat jacks, the design innovations for the
located between pile caps and One Margaret Street works
transfer beams, were used to included:
precisely transfer loads from
• No underpinning or cut and
existing column pad footings
cover was required, which
into transfer beams.
would otherwise have been
• New post-tensioned beams necessary based on precedent
within the basement, which and on the reference design.
encase existing columns and
• The required duration of
transfer loads to new piles that
works in the basement was
were installed with a low-height
reduced by 2 months, handing
drilling rig.
back the basement and
• Piles designed with sleeves useable car parking to the
to ensure that loads would be owner much earlier than
transferred below the final contracted and expected.
excavation level. A high-
• Occupying only a small
resolution camera was used
portion of the basement to
to verify the base condition of
construct the transfer structure
all piles during construction,
– as opposed to a much
ensuring certainty of the load
larger area that would have
transfers.
been required for traditional
underpinning (e.g. for piling
rigs) and for cut and cover
Figure 8: Excavation under Railway House Transfer Structure works. This minimised
disruption to the building
• The design specified an integrated construction and monitoring sequence owner.
to ensure that settlement was controlled at all times during the complex
sequence of transferring existing building loads through new load paths into
Figure 9 : One Margaret Street Proximity to Wynyard Walk Tunnel
new foundations.
• The integrated ground-structure solution was able to achieve the required
45 degree angles in the tunnel as opposed to a less technically challenging
90 degree angle, thus delivering the desired pedestrian experience.
Specifically, the outcomes of the design innovations for the Railway House
works included:
• “Zero settlement” demonstrated at all stages of construction and on
completion of the works and handover, thus meeting heritage and
stakeholder requirements.
• Creation of a new underground space directly below existing column
footings, which would not have been possible without the design
innovations.
• No disruption to the adjacent rail operation or the users of Railway House
above.
More generally, the design innovations were able to unlock the maximum
amount of underground space beneath existing buildings, providing the
optimal pedestrian experience for the finished tunnel, while maintaining
operational continuity and stakeholder relationships at all times during
construction.
Figure 10: Railway House Column Underpinning and
Transfer Construction from Concourse Level
5. Overview of Future Applications for the Innovation
at a Firm and Industry Level
At an industry level, the new design techniques developed in solving
the unique challenges of the Wynyard Walk project provide a valuable
precedent for future development, especially as city infrastructure becomes
increasingly congested and constrained. This is especially applicable for
future metro works and shallow road tunnels, which will become very
common around Australia.
It is hoped that the Wynyard Walk design approaches and the ground-
structure interaction systems analysis utilised can be adopted in future
projects around Australia, to unlock the maximum amount of underground
space while addressing the constrained environment and rigorous criteria. In
particular, for tunnelling and excavation works directly beneath and adjacent
to buildings, the innovative techniques that were developed for the Wynyard
Walk project could be adopted for the following applications:
• In-basement or on-ground transfer structures, to transfer loads from
existing buildings beyond the extent of tunnels or excavations, thereby
avoiding extensive, time-consuming, and disruptive building underpinning
works.
• Where building displacements are totally unacceptable, such as for
heritage buildings and other sensitive structures, designs to achieve “zero
settlement” throughout construction and on project handover, by use of a
fully integrated ground-structure analysis, design, construction sequence
and monitoring system.
At a company level, the knowledge and experience gained in developing
the Wynyard Walk innovations will be particularly valuable in future
collaborations between structural and geotechnical engineers, with regards
to analytical techniques and software modelling.
6. Pre-approved Media Release
Innovation was paramount in the design and construction of Sydney’s new Adding to the complexity of the project was the need to continue
Wynyard Walk project for Transport for NSW. Opened to the public in 2016 construction while one of Sydney’s busiest rail stations and major street
with acclaim for its friendliness – unusual for a subterranean tunnel - this networks remained open and completely operational.
major piece of critical infrastructure needed to navigate a large range of
The engineering team from Taylor Thomson Whitting and Pells Sullivan
challenges inherent when building in the CBD of a major city.
Meynink were able to bring together a number of innovations within this
One of Sydney’s largest and most complex transport developments, critical project, to deliver an impressive addition to Sydney’s commuter
Wynyard Walk connects the existing underground Wynyard Train Station infrastructure with minimal disruption to the existing environment. The
beneath the city to the new Barangaroo waterfront precinct and Sydney Wynyard Walk pedestrian infrastructure provides safe, quick and pleasant
CBD western corridor. Components consist of a new civic entry building for access for up to 20,000 users per hour, with improved accessibility for
Wynyard Station, a pedestrian tunnel, a western tunnel portal, a plaza and a disabled, elderly, and people with strollers and luggage.
bridge spanning Sussex Street.
Among the recognition received for this project was the 2017 award
Among the complexities of working within a busy city hub, arguably the “Excellence in Structural Engineering – Large Building Projects” given by the
greatest challenges surrounded the constraints imposed by two significant ACSE (Association of Consulting Structural Engineers).
buildings that risked being adversely affected. Railway House is a heritage
building of 1920’s art deco architecture – its fragile terracotta tile façade
would be particularly susceptible to the underground works. One Margaret
Street is a 20-storey office tower located in the direct path, above the
Wynyard Walk Tunnel, with only a metre from the tunnel crown to the base
of the building’s footings. From the outset, it was clear to the engineering
team that creative and innovative engineering solutions would be required.

Taylor Thomson Whitting (structural engineers) and Pells Sullivan Meynink

(geotechnical engineers) worked in close collaboration to address any
and all concerns, and to deliver an optimal outcome for the clients and
stakeholders. Among the initiatives adopted by the engineering team was
an innovative Ground-Structure Interaction design approach – incorporating
the full contribution of both the ground and structure to the analysis and
designs, thereby allowing use of underground space to be optimised, and
the best possible solution to be identified.

Figure 11: Wynyard Walk Tunnel ‘Y-Intersection’ break through