85 Macquarie Street
Connecting a bustling workplace to its heritage surroundings.
Introduction
Fusing Parramatta's urban uplift with its heritage in the design of a new commercial workplace and iconic urban landmark overlooking Centenary Square.
Project
85 Macquarie Street
Client
Holdmark Construction
Date
2024
Site area
1,201 sqm
Location
Parramatta, NSW
Indigenous Country
Burramattagal - Dharug Nation
GFA
9,668 sqm
NLA
8,795 sqm
85 Macquarie Street makes a significant contribution to Parramatta's rapid uplift as Sydney's secondary CBD. It serves as an important visual transition in the contrast between Parramatta's heritage buildings and its future commercial presence.
The boutique development is prominently located in Parramatta's vibrant civic heart and directly overlooks Centenary Square.
The dynamic facade takes cues from the datums of the adjacent heritage buildings, including the existing church, town hall and Murray's Building, as well as Indigenous concepts adopted as part of the landscape, public domain artworks and wayfinding.
The use of terracotta and sandstone cladding contributes to the heritage interpretations as well as the building's sustainability approach.
The building form responds to the solar plane with a series of terraced balconies to the top-level office floors. This biophilic outdoor spaces also contribute to the focus of 'employee wellness' and enabling access to natural light and air.
Public domain & artworks.
By Indigenous artist and philosopher Dr Shane Smithers and collaborating artist Sakina Reijners.
A four-storey colonnade through the ground plane features a 30m long mural and symbolic sandstone wall engravings. The public art intervention, titled ‘Same, Same, Different’, references the Dharug creation stories and invites the viewer to compare and contrast similar concepts in the world around them.
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’.
