Victoria Harbour — Buluk Park
Buluk Park is strategically located at the heart of Victoria Harbour’s City Quarter, at the confluence of the river and the harbour. It supports the external program of the new low storey Library at the Dock, Family Services Centre and Community Boating Hub by ameliorating winds from the north, with taller current and future residential developments to the east and south maximising solar access for the park.
The project took as its starting point the value of public open space, and the importance of establishing a sense of place to help build the nascent community. The project’s name draws on the word buluk, an Indigenous word meaning wetlands or marsh, chosen to reflect the pre-settlement environment and reinforce the importance of language in acknowledging the longest continuous living culture in the world.
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- Traditional Owners & Ongoing Custodians of the Land Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country
- Client City of Melbourne, Lendlease
- Location Docklands, Melbourne, Australia
- Year 2011–2014
Buluk Park’s design was a collaboration with the City of Melbourne to craft a highly functional and sustainable place. The master planning and design of Buluk Park resulted in the delivery of a tram stop and on-road dedicated bike lanes, reducing the reliance on and provision of vehicle use and parking. The location of the Library at The Dock was carefully calibrated in the master planning stage to provide the park with a buffer from wind, and shade in its northern edges.
Environmental sustainability was integral to the design and development of Bulk Park, including but not limited to:
– 1,000m² of reclaimed timber produced during the refurbishment of Victoria Harbour’s wharves were used to construct Buluk Park’s event decks and the library wharf.
– Maximising shade and solar access, super advanced 8-metre-high broad canopy semi-deciduous trees provide both shade and wind amelioration supported by an outer evergreen row of trees.
– Low-reflective materials were carefully selected in terms of colour, composition and finish for both the ground plane and vertical structures.
– High-quality components were specified to maximise longevity given the site’s proximity to the salty, brackish waters of the adjacent harbour and the Yarra River.
– Structural soils and contiguous soil volumes were incorporated into the substrate/substructure designs of the deck and adjacent streets for over 50 trees.
– Incorporation of green infrastructure and the successful implementation of an extensive suite of WSUD and bio-retention, stormwater retention and re-use.
– 1,000m² of reclaimed timber produced during the refurbishment of Victoria Harbour’s wharves were used to construct Buluk Park’s event decks and the library wharf.
– Maximising shade and solar access, super advanced 8-metre-high broad canopy semi-deciduous trees provide both shade and wind amelioration supported by an outer evergreen row of trees.
– Low-reflective materials were carefully selected in terms of colour, composition and finish for both the ground plane and vertical structures.
– High-quality components were specified to maximise longevity given the site’s proximity to the salty, brackish waters of the adjacent harbour and the Yarra River.
– Structural soils and contiguous soil volumes were incorporated into the substrate/substructure designs of the deck and adjacent streets for over 50 trees.
– Incorporation of green infrastructure and the successful implementation of an extensive suite of WSUD and bio-retention, stormwater retention and re-use.
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Buluk Park is a place to laze in the sun, meet friends, hang out, and play. An unfenced play space sits adjacent to a large expanse of lawn, framed by mature trees. Drawing on the site’s rich ecological and cultural history, the water play channels evoke the Yarra River’s twisting course and the tidal fluctuations of both river and harbour. The water play area draws heavily on the site’s harbour and riverside setting, the pre-canalised Yarra River, ephemerality and the city’s natural systems.
Buluk Park is a destination that operates successfully as a city park, urban playspace and local neighbourhood space. The park has become a vibrant anchor for the local community, workers and visitors to Docklands, enabling people to come together to explore, learn, participate and connect.
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- Team Oculus, City of Melbourne, Sally Smart (artist), Hayball, GHD, Electrolight
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AWARDS
2014 Kidsafe National Playspace Design Awards - Highly Commended
2011 AILA NSW Awards - Urban Design Award
2011 Planning Excellence Victoria Awards - Planning Minister’s Award - Photography Andrew Lloyd, Dianna Snape
