Author name: fjcstudio

The tower form at 111 Castlereagh Street is in progress, suspended above the 1930s heritage Art Deco form below.

The new architectural tower form is conceived as a suspended object, floating in space as a light, curvilinear object that contrasts and compliments the heritage building below. Visually the new form appears to bear no load on the heritage building it floats above but opens it to natural daylight through a newly created central atrium directly below the suspended form.

111 Castlereagh Street awaits to engage a thriving community, integrating the multiple uses of a luxury retail precinct, a unique and innovative workplace and contemporary living while creating a landmark building combined with the adaptive reuse of a significant historic Sydney building.

While conventional wisdom might have dictated the transformation of this space into yet another bar or restaurant,  fjcplace and the City of Sydney envisioned something more — a cultural space for public engagement, a sustainable and enduring public asset.

fjcstudio has worked with Coronation for a number of years honing the offer of this emerging Build to Rent typology.

With housing affordability and availability remaining a pressing issue in Australia and globally, innovative solutions to residential typologies such as Build to Rent (BtR) are being realised by the development, architecture and planning sectors. BtR addresses the specific needs of tenants in a highly competitive market; the need to support more flexibility in the classification and legislative framework guiding residential development, and the importance of providing community and social support for populations marginalised by property costs and hot rental markets. Equally, BtR provides a strong response to urban densification and solutions for renters wishing to live near local amenity and workplace.

Charlie Parker is one of the first Build-to-rent towers in Parramatta, and more broadly New South Wales. Providing 126 apartments with full-height windows and uninterrupted views of parkland and the city skyline to the east and south over Harris Park, Charlie Parker will also offer its residents access to private dining spaces, a cinema, workspaces, a library, an open-air pool, and a fully equipped gymnasium.