Evelyn Reynolds

The $88.6 million new Parramatta Aquatic Centre, designed by Grimshaw, Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall, opened its doors to the public on 25 September.
The 40,000 square metre facility contains a 50-metre, 10-lane heated outdoor pool, a 25-metre, 8-lane indoor pool, a learn-to-swim indoor pool, an indoor splash play area, as well as a fitness centre, spa, sauna, steam room, cafe and creche.
The facility also includes 30,000 square metres of landscaped outdoor spaces.
The building is set within the topography of the May’s Hill precinct in Parramatta Park, on the traditional lands of the Burramattaga. The landscape concept of the project acknowledges the site’s history as a gathering place. Parramatta Park is also inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the sunken building minimally impacts the landscape setting.

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Parramatta Aquatic Centre by Grimshaw, Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall. Image:

Peter Bennetts

A series of skylights provides natural light for the areas below, while simultaneously filtering the UV rays. Solar panels on the roof generate 273 megawatts per hour of energy savings.
The outdoor pool is encircled by a perimeter “ring.” Architect Andrew Burges told ArchitectureAU in 2019 that the “ring” serves multiple purposes: pool fencing, shading and circulation.
A series of linear pathways in the park also converges around the centre, connecting the CBD-facing park, entry plaza, main pool space, ring walk and verandah.
“Our goal was to provide a completely new vision of what an aquatic centre could be – we wanted to create a destination for the community, one that provides opportunity for many forms of recreation in a safe and inspiring facility that feels more like a landscape setting than a building.”

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Parramatta Aquatic Centre by Grimshaw, Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall. Image:

Peter Bennetts

The surrounding parkland has also been planted with 562 new native trees in an effort to rehabilitate the biodiversity of the site. A dense forest that surrounds the pool helps to combat urban heat island effects.
“The new Parramatta Aquatic Centre will provide a much-needed destination for swimming, fitness, and leisure in Western Sydney,” said Josh Henderson, project director at Grimshaw. “The design team, City of Parramatta and builder have all collaborated to create a valuable community asset that is enjoyable to experience, well made, highly functional and accessible. As a new home to many community groups, the opening of the facility will provide vibrant landscaped public spaces for fitness, sport, learn to swim classes and for time with friends and family.”
City of Parramatta lord mayor Sameer Pandey said, “Parramatta Aquatic Centre has been thoughtfully designed with the community in mind. The architects have done a wonderful job creating a space that the people of Parramatta, and greater Sydney, can enjoy for generations to come. This is more than just a pool – it’s a place where the community can swim laps in the pool, work out in the gym, relax in the spa, steam and sauna or simply enjoy a coffee in the café. A lot of memories will be made here – of local kids swimming their first lap, of families splashing around together on a long, hot summer day.” More

Detailed design and early investigative works on Melbourne’s Greenline Project are set to commence later this year.
Symal Infrastructure has been awarded the contract to complete site one of the Birrarung Marr precinct of the Greenline Project, which will see the delivery of a four-kilometre riverfront promenade along the Yarra (Birrarung) River, designed by Aspect Studios and TCL.
Five interconnected precincts will be established between Birrarung Marr and the Bolte Bridge, providing access to riverfront spaces for events and community gatherings.
Site one will form part of the Birrarung Marr Precinct, which will be the gateway to the Greenline. “Boldly celebrating Aboriginal culture and the river’s unique ecology,” the precinct will span from Batman Avenue to the eastern edge of Federation Square, featuring 450 metres of new boardwalks, viewpoints and green spaces for outdoor recreation.

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River Edge render. Image:

Aspect Studios and TCL.

Three contemporary spaces will be created during the initial stage of Birrarung Marr works: the River Edge, the Lookout and the Fig Tree Boardwalk.
The River Edge will feature walkways, new habitat for wildlife and green areas for play, the Lookout will face the river, providing an important destination for Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung cultural celebrations with First Nations design details and seating areas, while the Fig Tree Boardwalk will offer a shaded space for art, storytelling and observing of nature with a suspended tree-lined platform and seating.
Following that, two additional sites will complete the Birrarung Marr Precinct.
In the ensuing stages of the project, the Falls Precinct will be established to celebrate the site’s cultural significance to the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and the broader Eastern Kulin nation as the location of a former waterfall and river crossing, the River Park Precinct will involve the creation of an open space next to the river, the Maritime Precinct will be a place that reflects on Melbourne’s seafaring history, and the Saltwater Wharf Precinct will provide a new public park at the end of North Wharf.
In early 2023, City of Melbourne released a series of design ideas for the Greenline project, which had been inspired by international waterfront projects such as Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Parc des Docks in Paris, the Seattle waterfront in the United States and the Auckland waterfront in New Zealand.
Major construction on the project is expected to begin in 2024. More

Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore will present the opening keynote at the 2023 Australian Architecture Conference. Moore is the longest serving mayor in the history of the City of Sydney. First elected in 2004, she is currently serving her fifth term. She was also concurrently the Member for Sydney in the NSW Parliament and […] More

The Australian Institute of Architects New South Wales Chapter has praised the state government’s 2023-24 budget, saying the housing supply initiatives hold promise for those looking to find a safe and suitable place to live.
NSW chapter president Adam Haddow said positive social and affordable housing investments announced in the budget include: the $300 million to be reinvested in Landcom, a government-owned property developer, to accelerate the construction of 4,697 new homes including 1,409 affordable homes; the $610 million in funding negotiated with the federal government’s Social Housing Accelerator program for 1,500 additional social housing dwellings; and $79.3 million for new supply of First Nations housing.
The $9.1 million to assess housing supply opportunities across government-owned sites could potentially deliver some important gains, he said.
“We strongly encourage the government to invest in well-connected existing suburbs to achieve the state’s housing goals rather than relying on disconnected and poorly performing greenfield development,” Haddow said.
“We need to invest wisely to ensure that NSW remains an equitable and fair society.”
The Institute will continue to examine the budget, including the appointment of a rental commissioner and the $60 million government investment in build-to-rent trials in the South Coast and Northern Rivers.
“It is important that the build-to-rent trials target those struggling most, and include dwellings suitable for families,” Haddow said.
“We are genuinely excited about the emerging sector of build-to-rent asset holders who will be focused on good quality design to deliver long term durability, sustainability and liveability.
“We hope that the trial will help deliver a significant number of rental properties underpinned by institutional investors committed to creating long-term vibrant residential communities with excellent amenity, and that this brings affordable family-sized dwellings to our private rental market with secure long-term tenancies.”
The budget outlines the allocation of $24 million to establish the NSW Building Commission to support the delivery of quality housing, protecting homebuyers from substandard buildings.
“The Institute has made an unwavering commitment in its continual policy advice and technical input to address NSW’s building quality – especially our extensive work with the government and the Building Commissioner on the whole scheme of Design Declarations and Certifications,” Haddow said.
“We are glad to see that the budget has made good on its earlier announcement to establish a new Building Commission before the end of 2023.” More

Waterloo Street by SJB has been judged the winner of the Horbury Hunt Residential Award category in the 2023 Think Brick Awards. The house playfully engages with passersby through the arrangement, texture and geometry of its recycled and broken brick facade. Internally, the residence integrates custom brick flooring and custom glazed bricks to add detail […] More

Architecture firm Breathe is calling on all architects to reduce carbon emissions in their projects through six steps, which they revealed at an event in Melbourne on 20 September.
“The built environment is the single biggest emitting sector,” said Breathe founding director Jeremy McLeod. “37 percent of all emissions come from the built environment. That’s the place where we work, so we have agency to change that.”
McLeod explained that 27 percent comes from operational carbon – the carbon emitted through a building’s energy use. “The good news is this is the biggest single easiest chunk to solve,” he added. The remaining 10 percent is embodied carbon, which is harder to reduce, and much more work needs to be done.
He outlined three steps to achieving zero operational carbon, and a further three steps to reducing embodied carbon:
Operational carbon
1. Electrify everything. No more gas.
Use heat pumps for hot water, and electricity for heating and cooling, induction cooktops, solar power and EV chargers.
2. Buy 100 percent renewable energy
“Buying 100 percent certified Green Power is cheaper than putting solar on your roof. We can all buy Green Power tomorrow,” McLeod said. “As we buy Green Power out of the grid, it forces [energy companies] to commit to building large-scale renewables – wind, pumped hydro, large-scale solar.
Green Power is a government-managed program that makes 100 percent renewable energy available to households and businesses.
McLeod also encouraged architects working on housing developments to implement embedded energy networks because bulk-buying Green Power is cheaper than individually buying Green Power at retail rates.
3. Certification
“Certification is important, because we need to know what we’re building, and we need to be measuring these things.”
McLeod said that Breathe Architecture uses two strategies to ensure certification of its buildings, and that ongoing carbon audits are undertaken to maintain certification. The practice advises developers that a carbon-neutral building is a marketable asset and can include a clause in the owners’ corporation rules that it must undertake annual carbon audits and purchase carbon offsets if required.
Embodied carbon
1. Build less
“Size matters,” McLeod said. “The average size of a new house in NSW is 420 square metres,” he told an astonished crowd of Melbourne architects. “We’ve got the biggest houses in the world, and we’ve got the biggest carbon footprint in the world, save for some of the oil-producing countries in the Middle East.
“We need great housing, we don’t need massive housing.”
As well as reducing the size of buildings, he also said that shared amenities for both residential and commercial building types can also contribute to building less, including shared toilet facilities, centralized heat pumps, solar arrays, rainwater stores and rooftop spaces.

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Breathe designed a kit-of-parts fitout for ANZ branches, and the selection of sustainable materials was the heart of the project. Image:

Tom Ross

2. Material reduction
The three biggest emitters are cement, steel and aluminium. Reducing the amount of these three materials could significantly reduce the embodied carbon of a building. Steel can be eliminated from a building by stacking vertical structural elements and using smaller spans. Cement-free concrete or zero-carbon concrete would also contribute to emissions reduction, as would limiting the use of aluminium only to where appropriate, such as doors and windows.
He cited a number of suppliers in the building industry that have zero-carbon products and encouraged architects to use their collective specifying power to encourage other suppliers to develop their own zero-carbon products.
3. Measure the impact
Life-cycle assessments of both embodied and operational carbon are crucial to getting an understanding of the carbon emissions status quo. “We’ve all got to start measuring, because if we’re not measuring, we’re not going to get a benchmark, and if we don’t have a benchmark, how do we know how to cut our carbon?” McLeod said.
“The great thing about measuring is you can see what happens when you change your structure from concrete to steel or from steel to timber.
“Theoretically, if we could get everyone to handle carbon their side, we could then take out 100 percent of the embodied carbon. Our job is to electrify everything and to make sure that our clients commit to 100 percent renewables.” More

A multi-level primary school able to accommodate a capacity of 750 students has been proposed for Macquarie Park, Sydney, following the state government’s announcement that primary school student intake in the region is forecasted to triple by 2041.
The new Midtown Macquarie Park public school, designed by Architectus, will offer more educational options for families with children from kindergarten age to year six.
Created with collaborative input from teachers, the layout of the school encourages outdoor play through the implementation of a rooftop play area, a running track, a perimeter net for ball games, alfresco tables and a performance stage. Play areas will be located on each of the school’s teaching levels and the ground floor will comprise a multipurpose hall with court markings for sport, a covered and landscaped outdoor learning area (COLA), a climbing wall and garden.
The vertical school will include new classrooms, administration and staff facilities, a canteen, a multipurpose hall, and library, as well as a slide spanning from level one to the ground floor.

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The new Midtown Macquarie Park public school, designed by Architectus, offers more educational options for families with children from kindergarten age to year six. Image: Architectus

Deputy premier and education minister Prue Car said it is critical the growing community in Macquarie Park has the educational facilities it needs.
“I am thrilled to see plans for this new public school progressing, and I cannot wait to see this new school project completed,” Car said.
Midtown is a new urban neighbourhood being developed on the site of the former Ivanhoe Estate in Macquarie Park. With the school sited adjacent to the central Village Green park, students will be in close proximity to a sports field and open public parkland including Wilga Park and Shrimptons Creek.
The NSW Government has lodged a State Significant Development (SSD) application for the development. More

Designers and planners have been called upon to submit examples of completed and well-executed medium-density housing projects based in New South Wales.
“Finding the Missing Middle” is an initiative of Government Architect NSW (GANSW) with the objective of familiarizing the general public with well-designed, completed examples of low-rise and mid-rise housing typologies.
Following the collation of material, GANSW will publish a selection of projects on a publicly accessible online interactive map. Urban infil projects are of particular interest, however, they are also accepting brownfield and greenfield project submissions. The database will aim to present projects from both regional and metropolitan areas of NSW.
GANSW is seeking exemplary projects with the following typologies: low-rise housing including dual occupancies (attached), terraces, townhouses, villas, and apartments of two storeys and habitable roof, and mid-rise housing comprising townhouses and apartments of between three to six storeys.
A spokesperson for GANSW said there is a lot of misunderstanding in the community about medium-density housing.
“We all know it can be a highly successful typology and there are many great examples in our streets and suburbs,” the spokesperson said.
“We would welcome your knowledge and assistance in this task. Many of us have designed, delivered, or contributed to such projects, or know of excellent examples that may have been delivered by colleagues or have been in our neighbourhoods for many years.
GANSW advised it may not be possible to include all projects submitted. In selecting projects for publication, they will be considering response to context and neighbourhood character, built form and scale, impact on the public domain (landscape, parking arrangements, safety and aesthetics), level of density appropriate to the area and local amenity, affordability, and sustainability.
To find out more about the initiative, visit here. More