InterContinental Parramatta will feature elements of the city's Indigenous history.

International interior design firm, Scott Carver, has won the Design Excellence competition for InterContinental Parramatta, today releasing a new look at the property’s exterior ahead of construction beginning in the coming months.

The 4,300 square metre Holdmark Property Group site, announced earlier this year, will be a mixed-use development featuring offices, ground floor retail, restaurants and links to the Parramatta Light Rail in addition to the 200-room InterContinental Parramatta – the first time the brand has ventured into Western Sydney. The hotel will occupy 32 storeys out of the 57 levels approved in the development.

The 200-room hotel will occupy 32 levels of the 57 storey tower.

Scott Carver’s design highlights a segmented lobby area offering guests a choice in their evening entertainment including the option to go one way into the hotel’s restaurant and bar or head instead to the lobby lounge. Additional guest facilities will include a dual-level rooftop bar, fitness centre, swimming pool, wellness centre and club lounge.

The design incorporates much of Parramatta’s indigenous culture and history, with designs shaped from extensive conversation with Indigenous Design Consultant, Matthew Fellingham. As a result, the building will feature the Ngara Nura Way thoroughfare designed to connect the architecture to the land and bookend the customer experience.

“Our key design principles are equal parts physical and philosophical, driven by geomorphology, contextual history, community, and the urban framework,” said says Scott Carver Director, Nicholas Bandounas.

InterContinental Parramatta is expected to open in 2025.

“Importantly, these key principles are also underpinned by cultural layering and connection to Country and ground the hotel and commercial towers as they rise to form a unique imprint on the Parramatta CBD skyline.”

IHG Hotels and Resorts Director of Development Australasia and Pacific, Jael Fischer, extended her congratulations to Scott Carver on its success in the design competition.

“We are so excited to see InterContinental Parramatta come to life with this brilliantly cosmopolitan design that draws on the brand’s iconic heritage, with a strong connection to community,” Fischer said.

“We can’t wait to welcome it to the world when it opens in 2025.”