Bates Smart has won a design excellence competition for a 57-storey commercial tower in Parramatta.
To be named Burramatta Place, the proposed tower at 87-91 George Street will take its cues from designing with Country principles as well as the colonial architecture of a neighbouring building.
“Our design for Burramatta Place carefully considers its place in the local history, culture and environment to set a new architectural precedent for Parramatta, as the city embarks on an unprecedented period of redevelopment,” said Bates Smart director Philip Vivian.
The design of the tower’s raised lobby will follow the same order and symmetry as the neighbouring single-storey Perth House.
The tower will be surrounded by a riverine garden and a publicly accessible landscape square. Operable bi-fold doors will open up the building to the landscape and allow for natural ventilation.
The tower’s façade will lean outwards, creating shade over the proposed square. The tower’s sides will also cantilever over the ground plane, “inspired by the generous verandahs of Perth House,” Vivian said. “We have sought to capture the protection, comfort and human scale created by these spaces in a contemporary interpretation on a high-rise tower.”
The design of the tower is also anchored in place-specific characteristics of Burramattagal Country. The architects have been consulting with the local traditional owners on the design of the development.
The tower will be made using a hybrid mass-timber structure. Along with passive solar shades and glare control, operable awning windows at the corners, the tower will be capable of achieving carbon neautrality.
