Bridge Road Regional Play Space
This major play space is an anchor for the ongoing development of a 4,500-home residential community on Melbourne’s western fringe, and a significant asset for the region's young people.
Covering approximately 3,300m² of the newly-created Toolern Creek Regional Park, the Bridge Road Regional Play Space achieves several ambitious objectives. It is unique in offering of a broad range of play opportunities, providing stimulating experiences for children of all abilities and their families. It seamlessly integrates with adjacent facilities, creating a sense of the wider park as a destination worth visiting. And it is a legible addition to a strategic streetscape, with indigenous planting, finely-crafted rockwork and eye-catching vertical play elements.
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- TRADITIONAL OWNERS & ONGOING CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country
- Client Lendlease, Melton City Council
- Location Strathtulloh, Victoria, Australia
- Year 2015–2016
The site-wide design approach is informed by a ‘bio-cultural’ narrative, developed in collaboration with the site’s Traditional Owners. The ‘seven parks for seven seasons’ concept explores the cycle of the Kulin Nation calendar, with one season selected as a design driver for each of the parks within Smiths Lane.
The site-wide design approach is informed by a ‘bio-cultural’ narrative, developed in collaboration with the site’s Traditional Owners. The ‘seven parks for seven seasons’ concept explores the cycle of the Kulin Nation calendar, with one season selected as a design driver for each of the parks within Smiths Lane.
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The design of Banjo Park was inspired by the landscapes of the Cardinia Creek catchment, and echoes of the Kulin Nation, ‘Porneet’season; a wet time when tadpoles become frogs. The transmutation of tadpoles to frogs within the ‘Porneet’ season has been more literally captured through the design of a custom play tunnel that interprets varying stages of the frog’s life-cycle.
Winding across the mounded landscape to connect the two play zones, it offers increasingly challenging play opportunities, linking together the processes of children’s physical development with that of a tadpole’s metamorphosis.
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An open lawn area, picnic facilities, shade structures and toilets with changing facilities invite visitors to gather, relax and play in the park for prolonged periods . At maturity, the diverse tree plantings selected for their climate resilience will provide substantial canopy and comfort.
The design of Banjo Park is a unique response to its site and context. Through a culturally appropriate process, a bio-cultural design narrative has been developed with Traditional Owners that underpins the strategy for open spaces across the precinct.
Since it's opening in March 2022, the park has been enthusiastically embraced by residents as a comfortable opens space suitable for everyday respite, play, relaxation, and gathering. Banjo Park is providing cherished memories and experiences and supporting the establishment of a healthy and engaged community.
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- TEAM TTW Engineering, Romanis Trinham Collaborations, Paul Grover, LAS
- PHOTOGRAPHY Dianna Snape, ASPECT Studios
