Last Tuesday’s club meeting was a field visit to PHIVE, Parramatta’s new community centre, which was organised by President Trudy. Our group of 11 met at the bus sculpture at Parramatta Square at 7:15 am. Our tour guide was Ulrike (Uli) Holmes, who was awarded a Student Excellence Award by Carlingford Rotary in 2013.
Uli began the tour by showing us three bronze plaques that marked the aboriginal fire hearths used as early as 4000 years ago as a meeting place by the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, the traditional owners of the land that is now Parramatta. Parramatta is a Dharug word meaning ‘ the place where the eels lie down.’
PHIVE is aptly named. It is an acronym for Parramatta Hive, or meeting place. It is also its address, 5 Parramatta Square. It can be identified by its distinctive roof made of different hues of orange and red. The roof was designed by a French architect to be both artistic and functional. It is biophilic, meaning the internal design integrates with the external. The angles of the tiles can be changed for climate and lighting control.
PHIVE is part of a three building complex that are interconnected by a common underground parking. The basement also contains a Discovery room used for art exhibits, with the Lego Brickman exhibit currently running. There are also meeting rooms which can be hired by the public.
At the ground floor is the reception area and mall featuring original artwork by local artists. There is also a cafe, that is soon to open. The new town hall and Parramatta Square is also found in this level.
On levels 1 and 2 is a state-of-the-art library with over 6500 books and print media. There is a dedicated children’s section with open space and cushy furniture. The adult reading room has both the traditional table and chairs and semi-private cubicles. Free wifi is available throughout the library, as well as tablets and desktop computers free to use. Also in Level 2 is an aboriginal keeping place containing sacred artefacts, for the exclusive use of aboriginal peoples, the first facility of its kind in Australia.
Level 3 contains an active wellness studio, smart tech labs, a sound recording studio, and more meeting rooms available for hire. Two of the meeting rooms have access to the western and southern terraces. From the terraces we can see building construction still taking place. They include the refurbishment of the old Town Hall, and the construction of the new Parramatta Metro West station and the new Powerhouse Museum.
In Level 4 is situated the council chambers, more meeting rooms and a high-tech amphitheatre suitable for conferences and conventions. The central control room is also located in this level. PHIVE is an amazing building and has been awarded a 6 star Green Energy Rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.
