Parramatta Open…

I don’t often find myself in Parramatta, but last Saturday we headed west for the inaugural Parramatta Open — a one-day architecture and heritage event from Museums of History NSW, and the first satellite of Sydney Open. Tickets sold out, and it showed: a terrific turnout of people genuinely curious about the built environment, community and place.

Two buildings stood out. Parramatta Aquatic Centre, where Andrew Burges Architects (with Grimshaw and McGregor Coxall) led us through a circular oculus pool set into Mays Hill — most of the building sunk below ground to preserve heritage sightlines, with an elevated promenade framing the view between city and parkland.

And PHIVE, the award-winning civic hub and library by Manuelle Gautrand with DesignInc and Lacoste + Stevenson. We’ll admit the bright, faceted red panels had us sceptical at first — but up close it’s genuinely intelligent design, with panelling inspired by native flora that filters light and gives the new civic square real focus.

We also took in 6-8 Parramatta Square, Leigh Memorial Church, the recently restored Parramatta Town Hall (1883), St John’s Anglican Cathedral — sitting on the oldest continuously used church site in the country — and the Sydney West Trial Courts: a genuinely broad cross-section of Parramatta’s architectural story in a single day.

We missed the golden ticket ballot for a preview tour of Powerhouse Parramatta, the $915 million museum opening in November — so we’ll be back for that.

A great initiative, and a great excuse to get out to Parramatta. Thank you to Museums of History NSW and the volunteers who made it happen, and to partners the NSW Architects Registration Board, Government Architect NSW and City of Parramatta.

Parramatta is changing at a rapid pace, setting its sights on becoming the centre of Sydney, geographically and culturally. Bring it on!

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