A NEW commercial workplace is designed to uplift Parramatta’s heritage and being billed as an iconic urban landmark.
The $125M boutique development which opened in May, is in Parramatta’s vibrant civic heart and directly overlooks Centenary Square.
The13-storey building, known as 85 Macquarie Street and delivered by Holdmark Property Group, features four ground level retail outlets and 11 office levels above, with the topmost level enclosing plant rooms.
Architects Turner associate director Claire Mallin said 85 Macquarie Street makes a significant contribution to Parramatta’s status as Sydney’s new secondary CBD.
“The building’s contribution to the precinct and its urban response will become an important visual marker for Centenary Square–and what Centenary Square will potentially be known for in the future,” Mallin said.
The design of 85 Macquarie Street serves as an important visual transition in the contrast between Parramatta’s heritage buildings and its future commercial presence.
“It brings a positive relief to the skyline in mediating the heritage response with commercial uplift in the area,” Mallin said.
TURNER’s competition-winning design was influenced by the heritage forms which bookend the site, including the existing church, the town hall and Murray’s Building, nearby.
The dynamic façade takes cues from the datums of the adjacent heritage buildings, as well as Indigenous concepts adopted as part of the landscape, public domain artworks, signage and wayfinding.
The use of terracotta and sandstone cladding contributes to the heritage interpretation as well as the building’s sustainability approach intargeting5-star Green Star and 5-StarNABERS ratings.
“Bringing people back to the workplace is challenging,” Mallin said. “The priority in terms of attracting tenants is employee wellness and enabling access to natural light and air across the floorplate.”
The building form responds to the solar plane with a series of terraced balconies to the top-level office floors.
Workers will enjoy the on-site cafés and restaurants, a concierge in the lobby and connectivity to public transport, including the Metro and light rail at its doorstep.
Meanwhile, a four-storey colonnade through the ground plane features a 30m long mural and symbolic sandstone wall engravings by Indigenous artist and philosopher Shane Smithers and collaborating artist Sakina Reijners.
The public art intervention, titled ‘Same, Same, Different’, references the Dharug creation stories and invites the viewer to compare similar concepts in the world around them.
“This is without a doubt one of the most successful parts of the building,” Mallin said.
“The engravings will serve as a strong conversation point on the building using symbols from different religions and comparing them to the Indigenous belief system to say: ‘let’s acknowledge the past and celebrate Parramatta’s multicultural roots and move together as one’.”
