Gold Coast playground announced as Queensland’s best park
A playground on the northern Gold Coast has been recognised as the state’s best park after taking out a top industry gong.
Two Gold Coast winners were among 17 projects to be honoured by the Queensland Landscape Architecture Awards last night.
The impressive community play hub known as Bim’bimba Park in Pimpama, designed by Brisbane based Form Landscape Architects, won the Parks and Open Spaces category.
“Bim’bimba Park tells a rich, exciting and detailed story and has been underpinned by simple design principles that respond carefully to its setting to deliver a range of spaces for active play and recreation,” says Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) Queensland Jury Chair Deb Robbins.
AILA Queensland President David Uhlmann says shared outdoor spaces have taken on even greater importance following the COVID-19 crisis.
“With Gold Coast locals spending more time enjoying local parks, backyards, and green spaces, landscape architecture has been brought to the forefront,” he says.
Bim’bimba Park offers a range of spaces for active play and recreation.
“We believe there has been a new-found realisation of the importance of green space and active travel opportunities that are complementary to essential infrastructure, not only in our city centres, but also in our neighbourhoods, and surrounding our homes.”
The landscape planning category award went to The Urban Tree Canopy, a Gold Coast study by global firm Arup.
“With a growing population and increasing development on the Gold Coast region, this study makes rigorous analysis and judgment on the effects of both increased and decreased tree canopy,” says Robbins.
“The outcome is a plan for unprecedented climate changes and provides a baseline for understanding urban heat island effects on the Gold Coast.”
This article from the Gold Coast Bulletin originally appeared as “Gold Coast playground named Queensland’s best park”.
