Soper Place is a project that posits a new civic destination for the community of Penrith. Car-park, commercial building, indigenous landscape and hospitality combined in an innovative sustainable building wrapped in a language drawn from the natural environment.

Our proposal is underpinned by rigorous functional thinking about the larger civic development strategy for Penrith and our extensive commercial architectural experience. Coupled with this expertise are several key broader objectives:

—How can we extend the brief to allow for additional commercial and civic activity, both now and into the future

—How do we future proof Council’s investment in a way that allows for changing economic and transport modes

—Can the environment of the Cumberland plains around Penrith be re-introduced to the city centre

—How can landscape educate and tell a story of the past, present and future

Our proposal seeks to extend the rapidly changing urban fabric of Penrith’s parklands and pedestrian corridors into Soper Place. The project seeks to encourage and support new community uses, and create a civic destination that moves effortlessly between the daytime and night-time economies.

We explore sustainable building systems to create a design that minuses impact on the environment, whilst satisfying the commercial needs of A-Grade office accommodation and transport infrastructure. Building lifecycle considerations are addressed from an investment perspective to ensure money spent now can allow for future alternative uses at a minimum cost.

Most of all we have striven to create a beautiful civic destination to support the broad Penrith community.