The 2026 Australian Urban Design Awards highlighted an unusual object for an architecture prize: a multi-level car park at Campbelltown station in Sydney. The Campbelltown station commuter car park, designed by Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects, received one of three awards in the completed projects category.
The jury stressed that this is not just infrastructure for cars, but an example of high-quality urban design. The project uses natural ventilation, an open mesh structure, color accents and a green internal space. All of this makes the utilitarian building more convenient, sustainable and pleasant for people.
The main novelty is a shift away from spectacular architectural sculpture toward pragmatic solutions that improve everyday urban life. The project’s authors emphasized that the city changes not only through large cultural centers, bridges and towers. Most people encounter not architectural icons every day, but stations, passageways, bus stops, courtyards and parking facilities. That is where the true quality of a sustainable urban environment is tested.
