Johnson Pilton Walker (JPW) has been announced as lead architect for Riverside Tower, the new $250 million riverfront precinct development in the heart of Parramatta.

Riverside Tower, a whole-of-precinct development, was designed by JPW in response to what the firm calls a simple brief.

“Our brief was simple: a design for Riverside Tower that enhances and celebrates this past and present and the future of this unique riverfront location,” said Graeme Dix, Director at JPW.

What has resulted is a rounded design that attempts to reference the precinct’s past in architectural detail and to celebrate its future with a transformation of underutilised areas around the Tower site.

The JPW plan includes:

a 41 storey residential tower with 413 apartments;
ground floor public spaces and a grand colonnade along the river foreshore;
a Discovery Centre;
a new cultural and entertainment facility set to replace the current Parramatta Heritage Centre;
a new state-of-the-art, pillar-less ballroom and Conference Centre, with capacity for 1,000 people

JPW says the building is defined by its three-blade wall and deep reveal façade design.

The residential tower makes up the bulk of the project and will consist of a 41 storey apartment and retail tower with 37 floors dedicated to residential apartments.

The tower will be defined by three blade walls and deep vertical reveals across its principal facades and will be footed by a three-storey podium that will house non-residential amenity.

It will feature views of the river, surrounding parklands and Parramatta CBD, a dedicated club floor featuring a lap pool, gym, spa and sauna facilities, an enclosed sun terrace with river views, terraced gardens with barbeque facilities, and lounge spaces.

JPW will assume responsibility as architect, landscape architect, urban designer and interior designer for the project which will be developed by LIDIS, a joint venture with Dockside Group and Parramatta City Council (PCC).

Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Cr John Chedid said the proposed development involves major upgrades to more than 4,400sqm of public domain and foreshore land which will include new pedestrian links and cycle paths for Parramatta’s growing community.

“As Parramatta continues to expand, access to the river and surrounding foreshore will be critical to the city’s recreational and cultural future. We are pleased to be working with LIDIS and Dockside Group who share our vision of refocusing Parramatta’s CBD towards the river.”

The development is the latest installment of Parramatta's $1 billion civil works and construction program, which seeks to unlock value and bring more jobs and residents to its CBD.

Other works currently underway include Crown Group’s $309 million residential tower, V by Crown, Twin Commercial Towers by Johnson Pilton Walker, and one of the tallest structures in Australia, Aspire Tower by Grimshaw Architects.

Riverside Tower will deliver 700 jobs during the construction phase and is due for completion in 2017.

Images: Daily Telegraph

Nathan Johnson

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