Striking twin towers featuring a unique floating ‘public space in the sky’ are set to transform Parramatta’s skyline after winning Parramatta City Council’s latest international design excellence competition

Sydney firm Johnson Pilton Walker had been unanimously chosen by a jury of industry experts as the winner of the Parramatta Square Stages 5 & 6 competition.

The design for twin commercial towers was chosen from four shortlisted designs selected last month from an international field of 73 submissions from leading architects worldwide.

When constructed, the commercial towers will add up to 140,000 square metres of office space to the Parramatta CBD and function as two of the key centrepieces of the vital three hectare Parramatta Square site in the heart of the CBD.

Among the 53-storey buildings’ key features are: a cantilevering double-height sky terrace on the 25^th floor; a double-height sky lobby on the 27^th floor accommodating public and semi-public spaces; an edge-defining retail podium along the southern edge of the future Square; and a clear, accessible and active link between Parramatta transport interchange and Parramatta Square.

They jury said: “The JPW scheme proposes a highly legible, naturally lit connection between the rail station concourse and the future Parramatta Square, with multiple opportunities for retail activation on two levels.

“It proposes twin towers which complement but do not compete with the landmark ‘Aspire’ tower design. These towers will provide 21^st century workplaces in the heart of Parramatta.”

JPW now joins a range of internationally recognised architecture firms already appointed to design other landmark buildings within the Parramatta Square precinct.

Projects announced to date are:

Stage 1 – a commercial building at 169 Macquarie Street, awarded to Architectus;
Stage 2 – the Aspire residential tower at 160 Church Street, awarded to Grimshaw Architects;
Stage 3 – community/Council facilities and commercial space, awarded to Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp.

Parramatta Square
parracity.nsw.gov.au/your_council/news/CBD_redevelopment

Johnson Pilton Walker
jpw.com.au