Durbach Block Jaggers has won a design excellence competition for a new building in Parramatta Square.
Proposed for a site adjacent to the Leigh Memorial Church, the building will house the staff of the Parramatta Mission and be a place of meeting and a centre for social services.
Parramatta Square is the site of a special meeting place for the traditional owners, the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation. The church has occupied the site for more than 200 years.
The design is intended to contrast with the high rise towers surrounding the site with a circular form reminiscent of the banksia pod.
“The Gathering Place building is a friendly and familiar form,” Durbach Block Jaggers said in a statement. “Its gentle connection to the Leigh Memorial Church preserves both light and visibility. The circular geometry of the new welcomes all, complementing the inward nature of the existing church.”
The Gathering Place designed by Durbach Block Jaggers.
Image: Parramatta Mission
The project will also include a rooftop chapel and a reflective garden.
“Through the life and witness of its congregations and through its delivery of social services, Parramatta Mission is seeking to redevelop this site to be a source of inspiration in the life of Sydney’s ‘central city’,” said Parramatta Mission board and church council member Ian Gray. “The Gathering Place will be accessed by people from all walks of life.”
City of Parramatta lord mayor Steven Issa added, “The Gathering Place is a remarkable design and will be a wonderful addition to Parramatta’s Civic Link – a green, pedestrianised pathway that will connect the heart of the Parramatta CBD to the river.”
The architects will continue to work on the design in preparation for a development application. The Uniting Church is keen to start construction on the building as soon as possible.
