Architecture firm PTW, in association with Collins and Turner and landscape architects McGregor Coxall, have won a competition to design an apartment development on the site of the former Cumberland Newspaper headquarters in Parramatta, Western Sydney.
The winning team’s design proposal features three mixed-use towers; a 60-storey residential tower and 25-level building by PTW, and a 35-storey tower by Collins and Turner. The development will comprise of 964 residential apartments, commercial, various retail, restaurant and bar facilities, and a civic plaza by McGregor Coxall.
There is also the option of a hotel and serviced apartment component of up to 150 rooms and open spaces to create an epicenter for the community.
Developed by Dyldam and located at 142 Macquarie Street in Parramatta, the site sits at the edge of the CBD and is close to both the Parramatta River and surrounded by several significant heritage sites.
Motivated to the need to activate the new plaza, the design of the uppermost portion of the tallest tower twists to allow for solar access into its eastern apartments, as well as views of the Blue Mountains to the north and Sydney CBD to the east.
“Our vision for the public domain allows the tallest residential tower to energize the new plaza directly with the two taller towers responding to one another and the sky space between the two creating an exciting silhouette,” said PTW Director, Siobhan McInery.
A key design element of the scheme was the creation of a strong east-west link, allowing pedestrians to walk directly through the site to the public reserve, while allowing the new hotel to activate the plaza directly.
Key materials chosen for the project include glass and power-coated aluminium, with a metallic colour palette of cool silvers contrasting with warm bronze and copper tones.
Collins and Turner’s proposal for the middle height 35-storey building combines hotel and residential accommodation, along with a range of facilities for the public, patron and residents, including restaurants, function and fitness centres, and a rooftop pool club.
The project team is yet to lodge a development application.
