Parramatta Riverside Theatres International Competition Win

COX Architecture with 3XN Architects, Aileen Sage, Turf Design Studio and Bangawarra has won the international design competition for Riverside Theatres in Parramatta, Sydney.

The team acknowledge the enduring spirit and Peoples of Burramatta Country.

With a foundation built on established relationships, confidence, and mutual understanding, the design team is driven by a shared vision. This vision will establish the Riverside Theatres as the cornerstone of burgeoning cultural presence within the Central River City.

Our winning design includes a new 1,500 seat lyric theatre alongside a smaller 424 seat studio theatre and 80 seat cinema. Additionally, the existing playhouse theatre will undergo significant refurbishment into a 760 seat venue.

The revitalised riverfront will be a focal point, boasting a vibrant riverside bar and café, improved pedestrian pathways, and extensive new endemic landscaping. Committed to sustainability, the design targets a 5 Star Green Star rating, with a focus on reusing existing building materials to minimise environmental impact. The design seeks to remediate and restore the Parramatta landscape and riverbank ecologies to foster thriving biodiverse natural ecosystems.

The design team thanks the City of Parramatta, Riverside Theatres, and the competition design jury chaired by NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin for this opportunity to contribute to the cultural and public life of Parramatta and Greater Western Sydney.

Once complete in early 2028, the sophisticated new performing arts centre will bring world-class arts performances to Parramatta as the cultural centrepiece in the journey to becoming a major global city.

Explore the Reimagined Riverside here.

Thanks also to our collaborative partners and creative team lead by Joe Agius and Brooke Lloyd at Cox Architecture with the formidable team at 3XN/GXN (Fred Holt), with local architects Aileen Sage (Isabelle Toland) and the expertise and insights of Shannon Foster from bangawarra.