Architecture firm Carter Williamson has won a design excellence competition for a 55-storey residential tower in Parramatta.
Known as 188 George, the tower is planned for a site between George Street and the Parramatta River, and will include 302 apartments.
The project was developed through a collaborative, multidisciplinary team including Land and Form (landscape architecture), Prism Facades (facade design), Finding Infinity (environmental sustainability), garigarra (Connecting with Country) and Choi Render (visualisations).
According to a communique from Carter Williamson, the proposed design prioritises public activity at ground level, incorporating through-site links and pedestrian connections to the Parramatta River. At street level, all four edges of the tower are also activated with fine-grain hospitality spaces.
Co-principal at Carter Williamson Ben Peake said the project demonstrates how environmental performance and liveability can shape architecture at scale.
"From the outset, we focused on homes that feel calm, light-filled and connected to climate and place," Peake said. "The slender form allows for excellent daylight, natural cross ventilation and outlook, while the ground plane becomes a shared civic space. It is a model for how high-rise housing can be both generous and deeply rooted in its context."
The winning scheme will now progress through the next stages of design development.
