SUNNY DAYS AHEAD

A thorough investigation into the Hume region’s playspace offerings made all the difference for Redstone Park.

There is a lot involved in delivering an amazing park in Melbourne today; from meeting design and construction codes and understanding individual council requirements to high client expectations, all the while sticking to a budget. However, thanks to their proficiency, Fleming’s was able to do what it does best and produce a great outcome for the new Redstone Park in Sunbury.

To achieve the client brief, which included delivering an impressive park that is friendly, accessible, full of great play equipment and speaks to all demographics, Fleming’s design team, Flow Design Studio, invested heavily in the pre-planning phase.

A thorough investigation into the entire municipalities playspace offerings provided excellent insight into what the region needed, the unique point of difference Redstone Park had to offer, and how Fleming’s horticultural background could benefit the project most. Armed with this intelligence, Flow was able to conceive a design with a difference, focusing on all segments of the population.

The design focused on ensuring there would be plenty of play challenges to attract and maintain interest for young children to young adults, while the focus for young couples was on space to relax and unwind away from the hubbub of the play zone. For families, the shelter and barbecue area would provide excellent line of sight that allowed for supervision, and for active retirees plenty of space to meet with friends, walk a dog, or just chill out with a good read.

Positioned within the heart of the Redstone development — a residential project by awardwinning developer Villawood Properties — the site offers a sloping topography that softens and provides a gentle and organic feel to the park. The team from Flow Design Studio harnessed this sloping value to its full advantage, placing the shelter and picnic area at a high point, showing off the lovely vista across the park. This position also offers excellent line of sight so parents can be busy with picnic preparations while still keeping an eye on the kids.

The playspace is exceptionally well designed, with three individual zones dedicated to the kids. The teens will be impressed by their own zone comprised of a half basketball court, skate elements and a chillout seating area. Children aged 5 to 11 will enjoy cool play equipment that includes a multipurpose tower with slides and nets, swings, an all-access carousel and natural climb and play pieces. And for the tiny tots, rockers, swings, musical play elements and a little fortress offer ideal play value for their growing minds and bodies.

A contemplation zone with two relaxation nooks was also added, to allow users to enjoy theview across the greenspace. These circular nooks provide an inviting space to read a book, watch the kids kick about or meet friends for lunch. But what’s a park without shade!

Shade comes from trees, and trees is what Fleming’s does best! Leaning on its tree experts, Fleming’s knows it made the most exceptional choices when it came time for tree selection at Redstone. The stunning palette of mature trees planted will grow quickly, becoming a stately feature of the park. Offering a beautiful canopy of natural shade for visitors, Redstone Park will be a visual feast with large avenues of ornamental, deciduous and native trees.

The entrance itself is a showcase, featuring a large, paved apron with seating. It acts as a passive recreation area that opens to a fleet of steps and a journey through an arbour of wisteria plants, which opens to the large multipurpose, open space kick-about area. Add in villawood’s signature corten-steel sculptures of birds in

flight and it all comes together in a harmony of landscape design that is sure to set this park apart from any of its counterparts.

PROJECT PARTICULARS

COMPANY Fleming’s Landscapes
CLIENT Villawood Properties
LOCATION Sunbury, Victoria
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Flow Design Studio
PLANT SUPPLY Fleming’s Nurseries