Dulux Colour Awards 2023
Commercial and Multi-residential Exterior
This category recognises the best exterior paint finishes of any commercial, industrial, education facility or multi-residential apartment building.
Commercial and Multi-residential Exterior
This category recognises the best exterior paint finishes of any commercial, industrial, education facility or multi-residential apartment building.
Commercial and Multi-residential Exterior Winner
DesignInc Sydney, Lacoste+Stevenson and Manuelle Gautrand Architecture
PHIVE, Parramatta, NSW
About
PHIVE takes centre stage as a new community, cultural and civic centre including a library and council chambers in Parramatta.
PHIVE’s distinctive envelope, which is both a roof and a façade, is made of a panellised system of self-shading windows and skylights that allow filtered light to flood the interiors whilst also protecting from heat and glare.
Dulux Duratec Elements was selected for its durable finish, colour retention, and matt surface to provide the least reflective finish at all angles including low-angle sun reflections. Duratec Zeus was also used in the project.
The building takes inspiration from flora endemic to the area. The panellised skylight and facade system developed for the building allowed the team to specify an unexpected array of red-hued colours that transition from deep and dark at the lowest levels up to pale at the spire.
What the judges said...
"PHIVE is a civic standout whose mark is made equally by its comprehensive services and striking architectural addition to the built landscape,” says judge Sarah Carney. "The multi-storey structure’s vibrant external envelope comprises hundreds of powder-coated folds, which open successively to the west and the east, to the adjacent public square and the sky. Shading the interior from the sun’s heat while also allowing natural light in, the pattern of solid and open elements is eye-catching for the spectrum of red and tangerine hues that colour its geometric filigree. This vivid exoskeleton creates a dazzling play across the vast, curved sweep of the roof. It is an outstanding concept, boldly executed, and an invaluable contribution to the typology and context."
The winning palette
Colour was an important element of the project, attracting attention and signalling the building as a playful and welcoming public space in the heart of the Parramatta central business district.
Local flora, native waratahs, banksias and grevilleas inspired the unexpected array of powerful and memorable red hued colours of the facade resulting in a building that stands out in contrast to the neutrally toned towers around it.
The concept of complimentary colour language used to develop the building’s exterior colour scheme is continued to the interior.
Outside PHIVE
Explore the 2023 winners
