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Murray to Mountains Rail Trail
Rural Victoria
2023–24




The site comprises a stretch of 110 km bike trail that follows the former rail lines connecting three shires of North Eastern Victoria and on the lands of the Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri, and Waveroo First Nations people.

To grasp the scale of the project and the different ecologies it traverses, the architecture was proposed to be understood as a connecting series of elements that shared a similar language but which are distinct and designed to incorporate features that responded specifically to the sites and contexts. It was important for this linear armature to be understood as both a connecting infrastructural device that is recognisable and legible to visitors navigating the trail.







There are a number of common components that are deployed throughout the project as elements that both service the trail (utilities for power, water, and bike maintenance) and which act as recognisable ‘markers’ that draw connections across the length of the trail. These elements draw attention to the sites and their unique features and history — geological, ecological, and cultural.



NatureKit: terrrain. NatureKit: target landscapes. NatureKit: fires from 1970. NatureKit: bushbank.



The trail rest stops, amenities, utilities, and public art sites proposed — were each designed and curated with the idea to reveal, enhance, or capture a particular aspect of the local ecology; rocks specific to site geology are repurposed to support a bench seat, or hold up a solar-cell, landscape is regenerated with flora that is endemic to bio-regions, and sites equipped with amenities and utilities, also double as places to recharge, connect with the landscape and star-gaze.








This proposal is concerned with the benefits that it could generate in support of the local communities that extend beyond the project’s initiatives to develop the trail as a seasonal tourism destination. Sites are conceived of with diverse and interchangeable uses, for local arts and cultural groups and organisations to occupy all year round.






Station 1: Rutherglen Trailhead and Bike Hub

Brief description of the rest stop. Steel pipe/tube, chrome plated or powder-coated (Silver) finish, with adjustable/movable folded steel shelf, powder-coated.





Cras egestas elementum mi id viverra. Nam sollicitudin tincidunt orci, at ultricies ipsum lacinia eget. Donec sollicitudin erat sed sapien malesuada finibus. Maecenas dapibus eros vitae rutrum fermentum.  




  1. WC
  2. Bike charging station
  3. Water fountain
  4. Sun shade
  5. Picnic tables
  6. Seating
  7. Bike rack










Station 2: Tarrawingee Rest Stop

Brief description of the rest stop. Steel pipe/tube, chrome plated or powder-coated (Silver) finish, with adjustable/movable folded steel shelf, powder-coated.






Cras egestas elementum mi id viverra. Nam sollicitudin tincidunt orci, at ultricies ipsum lacinia eget. Donec sollicitudin erat sed sapien malesuada finibus. Maecenas dapibus eros vitae rutrum fermentum.  




  1. WC
  2. Bike charging station
  3. Water fountain
  4. Sun shade
  5. Picnic tables
  6. Seating
  7. Bike rack


Tarrawingee siltstone samples from the Geological Survey of Victoria’s Drill Core Library.






Station 3: Beechworth Bike Hub

Brief description of the rest stop. Steel pipe/tube, chrome plated or powder-coated (Silver) finish, with adjustable/movable folded steel shelf, powder-coated.














Station 4: Yackandandah Rest Stop

Brief description of the rest stop. Steel pipe/tube, chrome plated or powder-coated (Silver) finish, with adjustable/movable folded steel shelf, powder-coated.






Cras egestas elementum mi id viverra. Nam sollicitudin tincidunt orci, at ultricies ipsum lacinia eget. Donec sollicitudin erat sed sapien malesuada finibus. Maecenas dapibus eros vitae rutrum fermentum.  




Yackandandah rest stop plan.
  1. WC
  2. Bike charging station
  3. Water fountain
  4. Sun shade
  5. Picnic tables
  6. Seating
  7. Bike rack



Detail. Solar-powered e-bike charging station, toilets and a picnic area. Yackandandah siltstone samples from the Geological Survey of Victoria’s Drill Core Library. Rest stop approach. Modular aluminium seating. Water station, bike rack, seating and a rock garden.





Station 5: Eurobin Rest Stop 

Brief description of the rest stop. Steel pipe/tube, chrome plated or powder-coated (Silver) finish, with adjustable/movable folded steel shelf, powder-coated.






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  1. WC
  2. Bike charging station
  3. Water fountain
  4. Sun shade
  5. Picnic tables
  6. Seating
  7. Bike rack









Project team and credits TBA.

Simulaa is an architecture practice based in Naarm, dedicated to both built commissions and research projects. The work of the practice is defined by considered analysis and a research-based approach that prioritises a time-based design thinking that recognises architecture’s inherent entanglement with social, economic, aesthetic, political, and environmental concerns. The practice has a particular interest in reconciling architecture’s relationship with technology, energy, waste, and ecology through critical experimentation. As architects and design professionals we must demonstrate the social and economic advantages of new and better ways of thinking about the built environment. It is critical we re-evaluate and reset our priorities on a more empathetic and resilient path. 
Simulaa is an architecture practice based in Naarm, dedicated to both built commissions and research projects. The work of the practice is defined by considered analysis and a research-based approach that prioritises a time-based design thinking that recognises architecture’s inherent entanglement with social, economic, aesthetic, political, and environmental concerns. The practice has a particular interest in reconciling architecture’s relationship with technology, energy, waste, and ecology through critical experimentation. As architects and design professionals we must demonstrate the social and economic advantages of new and better ways of thinking about the built environment. It is critical we re-evaluate and reset our priorities on a more empathetic and resilient path.