PHIVE—Parramatta Civic Hub

PHIVE is much more than a Library. It is an exceptional public and cultural facility filled with community and exhibition spaces as well as the City of Parramatta’s Council Chamber. A new city landmark and a place where locals and visitors meet, discover, learn and share.

Around this multidisciplinary program, the design is infused with innovation and sensitivity. Its triangular shape is sculpted by the course of the winter sun, allowing the sun to shine on the public square all year around. The roof takes on a slight curve to the top of the new civic spire, with colours moving from bright to pale at the top, allowing the building to feel like it is reaching into the clouds.

Awards

2024 Highly Commended, APAC Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance Award—Institutional Projects, World Green Building Council
2024 Winner, International Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum
2024 Winner, Library Design Award, Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)
2023 Commendation, Public Architecture Award, Australian Institute of Architects (NSW)
2023 Commendation, Sustainability Award, Australian Institute of Architects (NSW)
2023 Shortlisted, Interior Architecture Award, Australian Institute of Architects (NSW)
2023 Winner, Commercial and Multi-Residential Exterior Category, Dulux Colour Awards
2023 Shortlisted, Excellence in Sustainability, The Urban Developer
2023 Shortlisted, Public Library of the year, The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
2023 Commendation, Social & Community Infrastructure (Built Form), UDIA NSW & Coronation Property Awards for Excellence
2023 Winner, Holdmark Innovation Award, Powerhouse and Holdmark
2022 Winner, Project of the Year Award, Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue’s Boomtown! 2022 Property & Infrastructure Awards
2016 Winner, International Design Competition, Parramatta City Council

Location: Dharug Country
Parramatta, New South Wales
Client: City of Parramatta Council
Value: $130M
Year: 2022
Collaborators: Lacoste+Stevenson, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture
Project Contact: Richard Does
Photography: Brett Boardman
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Blooms of colour

Colour is an important element of the project, attracting attention and signalling the building as a playful and welcoming public space in the heart of the Parramatta central business district. The unexpected array of powerful and memorable red hued colours was inspired by the local flora, native waratahs, banksias and grevilleas. The result is a building in that stands out in contrast to the neutrally toned towers around it.

The envelope, which is both a roof and a façade, is made of hundreds of folds that open views successively to the west and the east, to the square and the sky, expressing the uniqueness of this public and cultural building. It is also a very sustainable skin, protecting from heat while filtering light and views. The poetic quality of the roof transpires on the inside with a soft red glow around the edge of the crisp white interior surfaces.

Ours is a brave little building compared to its towering neighbours. The tessellations of the red cladding are its identity, referencing the blooms of local flowers.
Richard Does
Director, DesignInc

Prospect and refuge

Inside this tessellated volume is a cascade of public floors facing the square like a giant amphitheatre. Each floor steps back from below, overlook the other as you move up the building, and each with views to Parramatta Square. The building and the square foster a strong relationship and become one place, a theatre where the building becomes the audience and the square becomes the stage.

The ground floor is designed as an extension of the Square: an urban living room, a flexible place to meet, exhibit and explore. It presents itself as a red cocoon, with pops of vibrant green furniture scattered throughout its interior. This large open foyer connects directly into the back of the old Town Hall. A ground floor café activates the corner of Parramatta Square and the new civic link. A large exhibition-discovery centre is located just below the ground floor lobby.

Connected community

The library floors are organised with open flexible lounge and study areas facing the public square. Behind are the collections, and closest to the circulation core of the building are all the smaller enclosed meeting rooms and services. This gives maximum flexibility to adapt to future uses of the building.

The third level is dedicated to community rooms with two large flexible community spaces facing the square. The council chambers, at the top-level, cantilever symbolically over the old Town Hall. This heroic engineering feat is quite an experience to behold and reinforces the important historical relationship to old Parramatta Town Hall.

Phive is an exciting new civic space in the heart of the central business district of Parramatta. It offers a welcoming space for the community and visitors alike to connect, research, remember and shape the future of this vibrant city.

PHIVE is the centrepiece of Parramatta Square’s $2.7 billion transformation—a landmark addition placing Parramatta on the world stage… a state-of-the-art community and cultural centre for everyone to come together, chat, learn and be inspired
Cr Donna Davis
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor

PHIVE is designed by Australian firms, DesignInc, Lacoste+Stevenson and French firm Manuelle Gautrand Architecture. The project began in 2016 as the Jewel of the Square. In 2022, in its final iteration, PHIVE is more akin to the Flower of the Square, with its intricately woven façade a reference to our unique local native flora.