INNER-CITY NATURE ZONE
Glowing toadstools and woven arbors set the stage for this inner-city playscape.
Situated on the grounds of St Aloysius College, this nature-based playspace is located in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD. Surrounded by buildings and walkways, it is the only greenspace available to students within the school’s grounds.
Once a simple bark-chip-laden area with an old-fashioned steel climbing frame, timber pergola and a patch of grass, award-winning landscape contractors Climbing Tree Creations were contracted to create a new playspace that would meet the school’s needs. Working with a whimsical design that honours the students’ ideas for a hollow fairy tree, the team used natural materials and raised gardens beds to create a soft landscape and play zone suitable for kids of all ages.
Catering to students from kindergarten to Year 12, St Aloysius College prides itself on helping its students to flourish by inspiring a love of learning through an engaging and collaborative educational programme. In keeping with its ideology, the school wanted an exciting and engaging bespoke playground that maintained flow through the central courtyard of the campus, while also being sympathetic to the architecture of the existing heritage buildings surrounding it.
Working to this brief, Climbing Tree Creations was able to design and construct a playscape that offers a variety of play challenges. Utilising locally sourced rock and timber, the team built raised garden beds edged in natural rock and filled with native grasses and shrubs. Seating benches were built into the rock walls and covered with woven timber shade structures that offer a nest-like ambience, perfect for curling up with a book or gathering with friends.
In the active play zone, students enter through a metal arbor to reach the timber climbing tower, which reflects the hollow fairy tree theme. Custom mushroom lighting gives it a faerie-tale aspect and platforms bridging the levels create tunnels below for games of hide-and-seek. Stainless steel slides can be accessed from various levels, and a timber log scramble and monkey grid offer plenty of ground level play for honing balance and motor skills. Surrounded by softfall surfacing, in-ground trampolines are a safe addition to the playspace. Rope play nets from Kaebel Leisure and timber climbing structures round out this extensive range of play equipment.
Extensive soft landscaping and a large grassed area provide the beauty of nature in this inner-city setting. Curved pathways and rounded edges soften the landscape design and add a whimsical element to the playspace.
Despite having to work around an active school site, the team at Climbing Tree Creations was able to limit construction noise and movement in order to ensure minimal disruption to students. Showcasing the skilled work completed by the in-house team of carpenters, sculptors and landscapers that work for Climbing Tree, the St Aloysius playspace is a testament to innovative design and quality construction.
This playspace took out two awards at the 2022 Master Landscape of SA Awards of Excellence, in design and construction.
PROJECT PARTICULARS
Client St Aloysius College
Location Adelaide, South Australia
Rope Play Kaebel Leisure
Slide Fabrication Third Angle
Landscape Contractors Climbing Tree Creations
COMPANY
Climbing Tree Creations Pty Ltd
P 08 8447 3179
W climbingtree.com.au