This project is part of the 2021 AILA NSW Landscape Architecture Awards.
Lake Macquarie City Council has created a $1.5 million all-abilities playground in Morisset, New South Wales on Awabakal Country, designed in-house by landscape architect Thomas Chintapalli.
The park, dedicated to the memory of local hero John Bernard Goodwin, includes an all-inclusive playground with an upper activity area catering to young children and a lower playground area designed for older children.
“The park is behind the town centre and was previously an open space with a small playground with limited access,” said Daniel Walters, Team Leader Landscape Design with Lake Macquarie City Council.
“The facility now caters to a variety of users of different ages and abilities, now a vibrant meeting place and new urban centrepiece for Morisset. This park is a physical representation of people coming together to celebrate life through big splashes of colour and play opportunities for all, an ode to the heroic deeds of Bernie Goodwin.”
The new park includes a BBQ picnic area and fitness equipment, with furniture supplied by Street Furniture Australia.
“The Street Furniture Australia Mall DDA Setting at the picnic barbeque area is made with anodised aluminium battens, which are time-tested and easy to maintain,” said Daniel.
“Around the playground area, the selection includes the Mall DDA Seat with anodised aluminium battens which are mounted on a concrete base to give a robust look to match the sandstone walls, providing a neutral background.”
The Mall DDA Settings – which feature end-access for wheelchairs – and the plinth-fixed Mall DDA Seats each have anodised aluminium battens and frames powder coated in Night Sky.
The durable anodised aluminium battens are cool-to-the-touch in full sun, found to be the coolest batten material in a temperature study by Street Furniture Australia engineers.
Semi Hoop bicycle parking, in the Stainless 316 No.4 finish recommended for coastal areas, has also been installed to encourage active transport.
Existing trees and their resident nesting birds were able to be preserved despite site-wide capping of the park for remediation through an innovative ‘tree well’ solution, which allows the trees to breathe in rocky silos.
“Set amongst the existing mature trees, the facility is a place where people and the environment playfully collide; providing educational opportunities for visitors to witness the character and habits of the nesting birds,” said Daniel.
