#BackyardExperiment ACT, Australia (2017)

A pop-up park featuring 60 movable seats, colour, living lawn, library and lighting almost doubled visitors to Garema Place in just eight days.

Street Furniture Australia partnered with AILA, the ACT Government and many suppliers and community volunteer groups to activate the underused grey, open space in Canberra.

The park was designed by Context and features movable Forum Seats, Cafe Tables and Stools in bright powder coat colours.

An additional 30 lightweight wire seats from a popular retailer were painted and added to the space.

Time-lapse footage revealed a massive rise in the number of people visiting Garema Place and spending time in the pop-up park.

Visitors grew by 190%, dwellers by more than 240%, and far more children, families, couples, seniors and social groups were counted – rising by up to 780%.

In a powerful study of placemaking and design thinking, #BackyardExperiment shows the dramatic impact of a small intervention.

How many movable seats went missing? Watch the 10-minute documentary, and download the #BackyardExperiment White Paper for full results.

White Paper: #BackyardExperiment, cover

Download the White Paper: #BackyardExperiment (49 pages, 8MB)

Contributors

#BackyardExperiment was a collaboration between Street Furniture Australia and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, in partnership with ACT Government and In the City Canberra.

Park Design: Context

Lighting: WE-EF LIGHTING, The Lighting Society, ACT, Integral Lighting, Affinity Electrical Technologies

Lawn: Lawn Solutions Australia, Turf Australia, Horticulture Innovation Australia, Complete Turf and Landscaping, Back2front Landscapes

Books: ACT Government Libraries

A pop-up park featuring 60 movable seats, colour, living lawn, library and lighting almost doubled visitors to Garema Place in just eight days.

Street Furniture Australia partnered with AILA, the ACT Government and many suppliers and community volunteer groups to activate the underused grey, open space in Canberra.

The park was designed by Context and features movable Forum Seats, Cafe Tables and Stools in bright powder coat colours.

An additional 30 lightweight wire seats from a popular retailer were painted and added to the space.

Time-lapse footage revealed a massive rise in the number of people visiting Garema Place and spending time in the pop-up park.

Visitors grew by 190%, dwellers by more than 240%, and far more children, families, couples, seniors and social groups were counted – rising by up to 780%.

In a powerful study of placemaking and design thinking, #BackyardExperiment shows the dramatic impact of a small intervention.

How many movable seats went missing? Watch the 10-minute documentary, and download the #BackyardExperiment White Paper for full results.

White Paper: #BackyardExperiment, cover

Download the White Paper: #BackyardExperiment (49 pages, 8MB)

Contributors

#BackyardExperiment was a collaboration between Street Furniture Australia and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, in partnership with ACT Government and In the City Canberra.

Park Design: Context

Lighting: WE-EF LIGHTING, The Lighting Society, ACT, Integral Lighting, Affinity Electrical Technologies

Lawn: Lawn Solutions Australia, Turf Australia, Horticulture Innovation Australia, Complete Turf and Landscaping, Back2front Landscapes

Books: ACT Government Libraries

location

Garema Pl, Canberra ACT 2601

client

#BackyardExperiment was part of the 2016 International Festival of Landscape Architecture: Not in my Backyard

project highlights

“The impact is amazing for businesses in the area. I run King O’Malley’s Pub and I know quite a few of the shopkeepers here. It’s transformed it, people feel safe, they linger, they can have a cappuccino, buy a pair of shoes and just be in the space and it’s uplifting. The shopkeepers and owners can see there’s something positive happening. They can see there’s a change. It just lifts everyone’s spirits.” Peter Barcley, owner of King O’Malley’s pub.

market

similar projects

AILA pop-up park

Between lightbulb moments and deep thinking sessions, some 500 delegates of AILA’s 2015 Festival of Landscape Architecture recharged at Street Furniture Australia’s This Public Life Park. The four-day conference program included the likes of David van de Leer, Natalie Jeremijenko and Jenny B Osuldsen talking all things landscape architecture in Melbourne on October 15 to 18, 2015. Visitors kicked off their shoes to enjoy the freshly rolled-out lawn in Federation Square with SFA sun lounges, cafe tables and Forum seats in the shade of leafy trees planted in brightly coloured rim bins. The pop-up park almost entirely built in kind was designed by Context, with lawn from Lawn Solutions Australia and trees by Fleming’s Nurseries.

  • 24 mar 2016
read more

Constitution Avenue

An upgrade of Constitution Avenue, from Capital Hill through to Mount Pleasant Nature Reserve, features a custom suite of furniture with touches of brass. Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects and Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, with Street Furniture Australia, SMEC (urban strategy) and Able Landscaping, contributed to the transformation. “Like Paris’ Champs-Elysses or Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue, Constitution Avenue’s successful upgrade will establish it as one of the memorable urban boulevards and vistas of the world,” says Hill Thalis. “The resolution of its legible structure through fine, strong materials and detailing in the public domain will lend the Avenue an appropriate civic decorum, while making space for all the transit needs of a 21st century city.” The ACT Government received a $42 million federal grant for the 2.5 kilometre upgrade to celebrate the Centenary of Canberra. It includes …

  • 14 oct 2016
read more

Mildura Water Play Park

The Mildura Water Play Park revitalises parkland along the Murray River, inviting families to relax and play in a prime riverfront setting. Mildura Rural City Council commissioned the project to revive a 10 kilometre stretch of public park as part of an $18.3 million upgrade of the river precinct. Landscape architects Tract Consultants, with contractors King Construction Group, transformed the space into a local hotspot that attracted 1000 visitors each weekend in its first summer. “Given the hot climate of Mildura a waterplay facility was identified as an activity; to use that as part of the wider masterplan would help encourage people back to the park and the river,” says Nigel Parker, associate landscape architect with Tract. The firm designed a 40 metre long artificial stream, laid out like a river delta …

  • 11 jul 2016
read more