Thomas Street Playground

Glascott Landscape & Civil worked closely with Bayside City Council to upgrade Thomas Street Reserve Playground - a much-loved, unique community space in Hampton Victoria built in 1980’s, and now an award-winning playground. The Park is the first fully inclusive play space in Bayside. Aligning with current modern amenities, the key features include a new castle and extensive accessible play equipment, a senior’s exercise area, picnic shelters, changing places, and a public toilet facility. The centrepiece of the playground is a timber castle, which carries forward the tradition of the original timber fort built on the site by the local community over 30 years ago. Turrets from the existing fort were re-purposed in the new design, with wood and natural materials featured throughout. Designed as a village to be explored, the playground is scattered with unique artwork provided through Arts Access Victoria and includes a splash play area with water-spitting dragons, wheelchair trampolines, an accessible jousting-inspired flying fox for two, a range of swings, a parkour course with a balancing bridge, and even a DJ booth. There is a 500-metre walking path around the park with picnic shelters, a new toilet and change block, water bubblers, and shady trees. Extensive planting and sensory stimulation provide unstructured play areas while blending the old and new elements in a natural setting. Thomas Street Playground won the Parks & Leisure Australia 2022 Excellence Award for Play Spaces >$0.5m. Client: Bayside City Council Category: Public Space, Playground, Open Space Location: VIC Completed: 2021 Photography: Andrew Lloyd