A new milestone has been reached in the $77 million plan to give Parramatta a new state-of-the-art aquatic and leisure centre. After lodging the Development Application (DA) for major works late last week, the City of Parramatta council has released new images and an animation that offer an in-depth preview of how the completed complex might look.
If those artist’s impressions of people crowding and frollicking in close proximity amongst crystal blue waters and lush green lawns strike fear into your social-distancing weary soul, don’t worry, the project is not due for completion until 2023. As we reported when the project was announced in September, the people of Parramatta have sweated it out for three summers without a community pool, ever since the area's only place to swim was bulldozed in 2017 to make way for the Western Sydney Stadium development. Lord mayor Bob Dwyer said the “council is working hard to deliver it as soon as possible” in a press release on Friday afternoon.
The landscaped, ring-shaped structure, which is being co-funded by the state government and City of Parramatta, is being built in the Mays Hill Precinct of Parramatta Park with the support of the Parramatta Park Trust. The design by Grimshaw Architects, Andrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall, aims to sensitively integrate with the parkland surroundings, minimising noise and reducing the impact on nearby residents. The new imagery also reveals the integration of native plants and shrubs around the structure, indoor and outdoor pools and a café inside.
Architect Andrew Burges said of the design: “We believe that blending it into the natural park setting will really broaden the appeal of the Parramatta aquatic and leisure centre and make it a popular and enjoyable experience for Parramatta’s diverse and growing community.”
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