With an emphasis on inducing creativity and stimulating the imagination, this early childhood learning centre is second to none.
Located in the tropical climes of Queensland, the Hamilton Kids Club is a purpose-built early learning centre for young children with a focus on supporting relationships between children, families and the community. Emphasising play-based learning, the centre required an outdoor learning environment that would induce creativity and stimulate the imagination.
Catering for children aged six weeks to five years, the centre offers a positive and engaging learning environment, and needed a landscape that would reflect its ethos. Calling in the experts at Logan Landscapes, the centre commissioned the landscape team to create a safe and natural outdoor environment.
A large space located in a stand-alone building in Hamilton, the former fish processing plant was a blank canvas for an imaginative new landscape. The scope of works taken on by Logan Landscapes was extensive and included everything from constructing a safety glass balustrade to sandstone walls. Building a sandpit, installing fibreglass animals, softfall rubber paths and paint marking, fencing, installing a water creek, complete with drainage and a water pump, plus sprays jets, the installation of play equipment, planting and so much more.
Covering a huge area that wraps around the building to form age-appropriate play zones, the outdoor space has a base of artificial grass that forms the play surface. Intersecting the grass is a series of softfall rubber pathways that are great for scooters and bikes. Running through the middle of the large area, the pathway loops around through a fun cubby space built to resemble a vintage petrol station at one end. Cutting across the track is a series of brightly coloured stepping stones, leading little adventurers from one play activity to the next.
While all sorts of trials are likely to arise in any landscaping job, from drainage issues to access limitations, it’s not every day you have to accommodate a 6-metre-high giraffe. Just one of the challenges faced by the team from Logan Landscapes on this job. After creating a steel base and welding it to the edge of the deck in order to safely park the giraffe, the team moved on to the plane. Originally used for freight in Thailand, the plane carcass was repurposed as a TV prop before landing in Hamilton to be mounted on the wall at the centre for use as a play space.
A series of “wonky” cubby houses also dot the outdoor space, providing plenty of areas for solo or group play. A rope tunnel joins two cubby spaces together to give older kids a fun physical challenge. A large sandpit is tucked into one end of the outdoor space, completely covered by a soaring shade sail and surrounded by a safety glass balustrade to protect diggers as they create.
A water play station with hand-worked pump provides a little splash play for hot days, while a series of timber elements from bridges to logs form fun structures to climb over, on and around.
Surrounding the perimeter of the outdoor zone are a series of alcoves with themed scenes. Designed and constructed by Logan Landscapes, the play spots include shops, a library, an airport waiting lounge, along with the BP garage petrol station. Using vinyl murals to create realistic representations, these themed spaces are fun zones designed to activate children’s imaginations.
Finished off with garden beds edged in sandstone and filled with lush plantlife scattered around the space, this early childhood learning centre is a magical landscape guaranteed to spark inventive play in any child.
PROJECT PARTICULARS
Client Hamilton Kids Club
Location Hamilton, Queensland
Landscape Contractor Logan Landscape
Website
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