FORGE details and delivers boardwalk and bridge upgrades at within Sydney Harbour National Park...
- Client
- Stockland
- Project Partners
- AECOM
- State
- Queensland
An environmentally-sensitive walkway allowing locals to explore the natural beauty of their local wetlands.
Bokarina Beach is a premium 30-hectare residential community overlooking Lake Kawana on the Sunshine Coast. The developers, Stockland, selected FORGE (formerly Fleetwood Urban) to collaborate on the design and construction of several key elements within the community’s expansive parklands, including a series of contemporary shelters and an environmentally-sensitive walkway allowing locals to explore the natural beauty of the surrounding local wetlands.
Our involvement.
FORGE (formerly Fleetwood Urban) was involved as a design partner from the early stages of the project. Working closely with the architects, AECOM, we helped to refine the original concept utilising a bespoke version of our Balmoral™ and Mars™ systems , before providing detailed construction, materials selection and costing advice.
Our design engineers also created 3D model renders and plan views for inclusion in the documentation sent to Council for final approval. Our manufacturing and installation teams then brought the design vision to life, delivering the wetland crossing, expertly and efficiently.
Design Challenge
The site was in a highly sensitive ecological area, requiring a high durability/ low impact design that could safely span the wetland ‘no-go’ zone. Given the highly corrosive, high acidity environment, just 100m from the beach, the design also needed to accommodate for the use of suitable protective coatings.
Construction Challenge
Working in a highly sensitive area provided many challenges. The access corridor was severely limited due to the nature of the surrounding vegetation. Our installation methodology also had to be very low impact, something further complicated by the sandy soil which had low bearing pressure.
Innovations
To accommodate the boardwalk’s large clear span, FORGE (formerly Fleetwood Urban) created a bespoke variation on the standard Balmoral™ system. Careful selection of materials also saw the team specify an innovative protective coating and Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) for the boardwalk subframe and deck.
Features
- Low impact solution involving Fleetwood’s Balmoral™ and Mars™ systems
- Low profile design, nestled into the landscape
- Dulux 10-year warranty on all painted finishes
Safety & Risk Considerations
Environmental risks were a governing factor at every stage of the project. As one example, due to the site’s restricted access, the size and weight of the bridge sections needed to be carefully considered as part of our safety in design process.
Sustainability Considerations
Given its proximity to a highly sensitive wetland and frog habitat, due consideration needed to be given to the impact of the boardwalk on the surrounding landscape. The harsh conditions of the coastal location also meant choosing materials that were highly durable yet low maintenance to minimise ongoing impacts. Beyond this, all timber was sourced from certified sustainably grown Australian Forests and the FRP subframe and decking included recycled materials.
