RISING ABOVE THE FLOOD

An elevated treehouse nestled under an iconic local fig tree provides the Windsor community with a space to play and imagine.

A bespoke playground adjoining recreational greenspace in the inner-city suburb of Windsor was opened by Brisbane City Council opposite the Northey Street City Farm Market and metropolitan-level sports precinct, Downey Park. The new Windsor Sport and Community Park offers local inhabitants a valuable open-space recreation asset.

With the objective of activating one of Brisbane’s valued recreational assets and providing green infrastructure for the region, Brisbane City Council commissioned a nature-inspired playscape set within a leafy landscape to serves as the hub for Windsor’s diverse community.

Originally a vacant block in a residential neighbourhood, the land was located in a flood-prone zone. With an agenda to create a new park on the 1.57-hectare site, Council engaged principal contractor Naturform to construct a best-practice flood-resilient park. Council engaged with various stakeholders, consultants and local residents to ensure the design of the playground would be forward-thinking, with planning objectives, remediation for restoration and flood resilience in mind.

Designed by Playscape Creations, in conjunction with Brisbane City Council’s city design team, the park features custom play equipment fabricated and installed by Playscape Installations, including a treehouse-style tower that offers “at-height” views of the iconic fig tree onsite and the natural surrounds.

As an inclusive playspace, Windsor Park has many active opportunities for people regardless of age, gender or ability, with structured and unstructured play experiences for anyone to access. Organic pathways lead from one island of play to the next, and are all wheelchair and pram accessible. Artist interpretations of native animals adorn Australian hardwood timber posts, which spark children’s imaginations as they trace their shapes and try to find them in the neighbouring trees, while an all-abilities carousel allows children in wheelchairs to transfer directly onto the carousel and spin and engage with their peers.

Forming the largest unit in the park is the Tallaganda Hut climbing structure. With sustainability being a key focus in the selection of play equipment for this project, the treehouse tower has structural features that are constructed from sustainably grown and responsibly harvested Australian Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxlylon). The hand-selected timber logs have had the sapwood removed through a meticulous process to expose only the Heartwood of the log, removing future risk of the timber splitting or peeling. In-ground footings add both compressive and tensile strength to the system. The section of timber designated as footing is sealed with a black bitumen paint to prevent moisture ingress and encapsulated in concrete to prevent movement. The significant engineering of this unit ensured the equipment’s survival during a flood event post construction.

In the 2022 floods, the water level within the playground rose more than three metres high, above the treehouse deck. The tops of the swings and some of the systems were no longer visible above the flood line. When the water receded several days later, it was found that all the footings were secure with no structural movement. The timber used to engineer the Tallaganda hut did not take on any additional moisture and the rubber softfall was found intact. The stainless-steel elements were free of surface rust and oxidisation, and following a good wash down and debris removal, the play equipment was found to be in full working order.

Protected against the weather, the Windsor Park playspace continues to stand tall, its many offerings encouraging individual exploration and reflection, peer interaction, opportunities for imaginative play, and plenty of greenspace for good old-fashioned running around.

PROJECT PARTICULARS

Client Brisbane City Council

Location Windsor, Queensland

Landscape Contractor Naturform

Play Equipment Playscape Creations