Two towers proposed for Parramatta riverfront

Sydney practice Chrofi has won a design competition for two significant buildings on the Parramatta riverfront: a 52-storey mixed-use tower and an eight-storey commercial building.

The eight-storey commercial building will be built from mass engineered timber, with the mass timber structure reading as "the defining architectural statement of the building, bringing a warmth and natural tactility to the proposal," the architects said in a statement.

The taller tower will house a range of apartments above a five-storey podium, which will accommodate 4,000 square metres of commercial and retail space.

"Underpinning the design response was establishing an understanding of what high density developments in Sydney's Second CBD currently looks like and set forth how we might alter those preconceptions to create a better residential, commercial, retail and public outcome," the architects stated.

At ground level, an arcade will flank the eastern edge of a new "urban piazza," with a series of integrated public artworks curated in collaboration with artist Otis Hope Carey and Indigenous consultancy group Bangawarra will reflect local Indigenous stories of water, sky and mountains.

Elevated gardens on top of the tower podium and tower rooftop will serve apartment residents, while a green space on the roof of the commercial building will provide tenants views over the adjacent park towards Parramatta River.

"The scale and strategic location of the site means that it will transform the context as much as it responds to it, and it will define how the precinct emerges around it," stated Chrofi.