By Thomson Hay Landscape Architects
Client: Swan Hill Rural City Council
Collaboration: Whitfield Excavations, Heil Engineering Consultants, local artist Sandra Kropinyeri
Status: Construction completed in December 2019
A new riverside destination
THLA undertook concept development and detailed design for the new adventure playground in Riverside park in Swan Hill. The playground design incorporates multiple play elements for different age groups, while still retaining almost all of the established trees. For older children, adventure play items include a 40 metre long flying fox, 8 metre high climbing unit and a gyro swing. A carefully designed area for smaller kids with a large accessible water play and sand pit area forms the heart of the playground design.
The park design acknowledges indigenous culture and the custom designed large shelter includes a laser-cut panel that incorporates artwork commissioned from local artist Sandra Kropinyeri. Feature panels in the climbing unit and other sculptural pieces will also be scattered through the park with artwork reflecting local themes.
A number of recycled elements from the council salvage yard have been included. Old timber pylons have been incorporated as nature play elements such as climbing logs. Timber sleepers from the old Pioneer Settlement wharf are showcased on the shelter posts.
Photography: Proludic, THLA
Thomson Hay Landscape Architects is a regionally-based practice located in central Victoria, near Ballarat. Our staff are passionate about exploring landscape design ideas that extend the thinking of the client while ultimately fulfilling the client's brief.
Our diverse skills developed over more than 30 years of practice are combined with a thorough and rigorous design approach to provide our clients with innovative, practical and achievable landscape design solutions.
Our approach to landscape planning and design considers aesthetic, ecological, economic and cultural elements of the landscape while acknowledging the sense of place