Overlooking Botany Bay, Sir Joseph Banks Park was the site of Australia’s first zoological gardens....
- Client
- City of Moreton Bay
- Project Partners
- Form Landscape Architects (Design), Glascott (Principal Contractor)
- State
- Queensland
Scribbly gum moths and magnificent moments of play
John Bray District Park is a popular community greenspace near Strathpine in Brisbane’s northern suburbs. As part of a major $3.4 million upgrade the City of Moreton Bay appointed FORGE to refine, detail and then deliver on its vision for one of the park’s highest profile elements: a soaring 7.2-metre custom play tower whimsically inspired by the life cycle of the native Scribbly Gum Moth.
Working alongside the project’s lead contractor, Glascott, FORGE delivered the upgrade on an extremely busy site. The park now includes a new amenities block, picnic facilities, a multi-sports court, pedestrian access paths, more than 100 new trees and 2,500 native plants. Meticulous planning, a considered installation methodology and clear communication helped ensure a seamless, high-quality outcome
Our involvement.
The City of Moreton Bay appointed FORGE to detail and deliver the hero play tower at John Bray Park following a competitive tender. Our initial involvement saw us collaborate with Council’s in-house design team to refine and detail their existing ‘Scribbly Gum’ concept for the tower and its connecting play elements. The key was to ensure it could be confidently delivered within the project budget and in full compliance with all applicable play safety standards.
Once the design was approved, FORGE worked alongside Glascott to manufacture, pre-assemble and install the structural elements at John Bray Park while causing as little disruption as possible to the other trades working adjacently to the site, and a local community that was very interested in seeing what was taking shape at their beloved park!
Design Challenge
As the creative showpiece of the all-ages, nature-inspired playground, the original play tower vision was created by Form Landscape Architects. Loosely based on the form of a Scribbly Gum moth cocoon, the main structure was further complemented by an enchanting network of slides, cargo nets and climbing frames.
Beyond ensuring the final design was safe and actually buildable in the real world, it was essential for the alignment of the structures to nestle naturally within the park’s existing trees. In refining the design concept, close consideration was given to maximising moments of play within the project budget while eliminating fall and entrapment risks, with the assistance of an independent play certifier.
Materiality was also carefully considered, with hardwood timber (Ironbark and Spotted Gum) specified wherever possible to enhance the ‘nature-play’ aspect of the park experience.
Construction Challenge
As just one element of the wider upgrade at John Bray Park, it was a very busy site with multiple trades working in close proximity. Clear communication between contractors and meeting milestone commitments was absolutely essential to ensure a seamless delivery phase.
The new play tower was also located in a heavily wooded area, restricting site access and necessitating a phased installation methodology with detailed access plans in order to navigate in and around the existing gum trees. As just one example, FORGE utilised agile Maeda mini cranes to lift the larger structural sections into position before completing the finer installation and connection works by hand.
Innovation
Successfully delivering such a large and unique play structure required innovative thinking at almost every stage from initial concept to final construction and installation. One special touch was a custom designed educational panel with scribbly gum moth tracks engraved into a High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) panel and aluminium plate-engraved text and imagery.
Features
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7.2-metre ‘Scribbly Gum’ climbing tower with perforated rolled aluminium panels and lasercut patterns
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5-metre tube slide with light panels
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2.5-metre single slide
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2.5-metre ‘scribbly’ climbing frame
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Hexagonal hardwood timber play deck
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6.1-metre hardwood timber log climb
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1.5-metre cargo climbing net
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1.5-metre climbing wall
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Cubby house with ‘scribbly’ finger maze
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Toddler slide and step deck
