Parramatta Road Urban Transformation

It is a major artery channelling and connecting the city and the west. As part of the award-winning Parramatta Road Urban Transformation project, GML helped rethink urban development along this vital, historic urban corridor.

Parramatta Road has been reimagined by urban planners, architects and government many times over.

GML and SJB aimed to respond to the fine grain as part of this transformation project. Managing growth and increased density while retaining and enhancing the historical identity and distinctive local character of Parramatta Road—from Victorian shops to garden suburbs to modern industrial development—was at the heart of our approach.

Beyond the sensory saturation that is the road today, we looked to reflect a sense of place, through urban pattern, form and character, articulating the livability that people and communities living, travelling and working along the corridor desired.

Using a unique ‘historical landscape’ approach, GML reviewed and analysed the heritage character and historic context of the various precincts. Our input informed the overarching heritage guidelines and planning framework for the corridor, making history, heritage values and community connections to place part of the long-term vision of Parramatta Road’s urban design.

The project won two categories in the Planning Institute of Australia’s 2018 National Awards for Planning Excellence, ‘The Hard Won Victory’, and ‘Best Planning Ideas – Large Project’.

The Parramatta Road Corridor Strategy was a significant project, put together in challenging circumstances, and will guide and positively impact many in Sydney… The Strategy was prepared over a 3 year period and offers originality and innovation in its extensive and thorough engagement process. (Planning Institute Australia Awards Booklet)

*(Unstable Ground: Performance and the Politics of Place, edited by Gay McAuley, published by P.I.E Peter Lang S.A Brussels, 2006, p 118)