Catherine Bakker

Parramatta Council was seeking design ideas to help centralize its entertainment district. The existing Riverside Theatre, which, can be accessed via Ferry, sits opposite a large vacant block, and adjacent to a central park. The brief requested additional gallery, and entertainment uses along site commercial opportunities. The resulting design involved the partial reworking of the existing Theatre and new buildings opposite, in conversation across the river. A key principal in the design was the form of the building with its a static central zone, where public spaces on either side of the river related, linked by two existing bridges. The edge of the river was sculptured, stepping in both plan, and in section to create amphitheatres, public seating areas, and even a floating stage. Existing and new trees, shaded while softening the strong architectonic forms.