Jubilee Playground NSW, Australia (2014)

Jubilee Playground by Sue Barnsley Design has been awarded the Medal for Landscape Architecture at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW 2014 Awards.

The playground, in Glebe’s Bicentennial Park, is a whimsical community space for children. Nicknamed ‘the lost world’ by its creators, the park meets the increasing demand for inner city families to access outdoor play spaces.

“Throughout the design of Jubilee Playground we were conscious of reusing and renovating site furniture and play equipment.”

Street Furniture Australia provided a number of colourful Classic Plaza Seats to the site, in keeping with the pre-existing seating nearby. Sue Barnsley says, “Throughout the design of Jubilee Playground we were conscious of reusing and renovating site furniture and play equipment. So we built on the existing pattern of Street Furniture Australia seats that edged Northcote Street, set them in butterfly-winged pairs within the playground and added picnic settings to new shelters. All were customised with colourful painted battens derived from the ripening fruit of the fig trees which mark this corner of the park.”

Concept Sketches by Sue Barnsley Design

Jason Grant, AILA NSW President, says, “With more and more children growing up in high-density housing and without the benefit of a backyard to call their own, the local park and playground has become an important focus for inner city families. Jubilee Playground has become a vibrant place for play and community gathering; its sheer beauty and delight makes this parkland play space magical and uplifting for children and adults alike.”

The Jubilee Playground is one of 87 to undergo a makeover in an ongoing renewal program by the City of Sydney. The initiative aims to ensure residents can find recreation and play areas for their children within a 10-minute walk from home.