New South Wales Projects & Sites
Ballast Point Park, Birchgrove, Sydney
introduction / overview / images / location / Projects
Landscape Architect: McGregor Coxall
Location: Ballast Point Park, Birchgrove (Sydney) New South Wales
Introduction
This project involved Mcgregor Coxall developing the design for this 2.8 ha new public park from an agreed masterplan by Anton James Design in co-operation with Context and CAB Consulting.
The design uses world leading sustainability principles to minimise the project’s carbon footprint and ecologically rehabilitate the site. The design reconciles the layers of history with forward looking new technologies to create a regionally significant urban park. The environmental approach is further underpinned by site-wide stormwater biofiltration, recycled materials, and wind turbines for on-site energy production.
SPECIAL FACTORS:
The site involved a number of unique aspects;
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At the commencement of the design process, the design team had no geotechnical information and little confirmed survey information. This resulted in ongoing design revisions during the construction to the extend that the final outcome of the park was evolving on a daily basis. By working closely with the contractor, McGregor Coxall were able to deliver the project to a high standard and within budget.
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During site excavation works, the sandstone foundations and relics of the historical ‘Menevia’ house were uncovered and the design adjusted to respect this past layer of the site
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The design was modified on an ongoing basis in order to recycle the materials found on site so that the amount of material removed from site was limited.
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The site uses 8 vertical wind turbines to generate its own energy. It is the first time this technology has been used in a public park.
BUDGET: $10 Million
Design Excellence and functional quality
Innovative design or demonstration of a new direction in profession
The design challenges our perception of materials and their use. Dominant new terrace walls sit atop the sandstone cliffs but these walls are not made of precious sandstone excavated from another site, rather from the rubble of our past. What once was called rubbish is now called beautiful. It is the new ballast. But it is more than this at play: It is the total composition of these recycled rubber filled cages, off set with concrete coping panels topped with fine grain railing, that allow these walls to sit confidently at the portal to the inner harbour.
8 vertical axis wind turbines and an extract from a Les Murray poem, carved into recycled tank panels, forms a sculptural re-interpretation of the site’s former largest storage tank. The wind turbines symbolise the future, a step away from our fossil fuelled past towards more sustainable renewable energy forms.
Clarity and legibility of expression of design concept
The underpinning philosophies for the site are;
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To communicate the change that has occurred to the local area, i.e. from an industrial heart land to its present more gentrified evolution. The design overlays a high end fine grain detailing over a more robust constructed base.
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To communicate the change in our cultural perception of our landscape from a resource to be used to an asset to be respected. The design explores the re-use of the rubble of the past in re-building a park of the future. This concept is further developed by exploring the use of recycled material across the site and the generation of its own energy requirements.
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To respect and communicate the site’s historic layers. A fine balance of each layer, underpinned by a signage strategy, has been used to engage park visitors.
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To employ sustainable design principles in managing on site stormwater and planting. All site stormwater is directed to planting areas where it is cleaned and filtered prior to entering the harbour. Only provenance stock has been used to revegetate the site and promote the reinstatement of local biodiversity.
Appropriateness to function
The function of the park is to provide picnic and harbour viewing areas for the enjoyment of locals and the general public. The success of the design has been underlined by the unanimously positive response from park users and the high use the park has experienced since opening.
The design challenges the concept of children’s play areas in parks of this nature. McGregor Coxall took the position that they did not want to provide of –the-shelf play facilities but rather see the entire park as an opportunity for adventure, exploration and playfulness. This approach has been confirmed by the positive response we have had by face to face communication and emails that we have received from park users.
Response to the brief
The brief for this park was written by the local community in conjunction with Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. It called for a park that responded to the site’s history, that was environmental responsive and set a benchmark for high quality park on Sydney harbour. The incredibly positive response that we received from both, the public as well as the client confirms to us that the design has met the brief requirements.
Sensitivity to social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context
There is currently a strong discussion as to what is the appropriate response when we are working with strong post industrial sites, ranging from total removal of all industrial remnants and returning the site to it’s original natural state to retaining all human interventions as heritage. This design brings to life the principles established in the original master plan where a fine balance between what is removed and what is retained is proposed. The end product is a park that proudly communicates all the site’s past layers and human interventions in both, an innovative and informative manner. However, the true story line here is that ultimately the planting strategy will result in this headland being re-clothed in green.
Quality of implementation of built work
In order to ensure that the high level of detail documentation done for the site was reflected in the built outcome, McGregor Coxall vigorously pursued and were successfully in being engaged to project manage the construction phase of the works.
At the commencement of the design process, the design team had no geotechnical information and little confirmed survey information. This resulted in ongoing design revisions during the construction to the extend that the final outcome of the park was evolving on a daily basis. By working closely with the contractor, McGregor Coxall were able to deliver the project to a high standard and within budget.
Addressing the Australian Landscape Principles
Which of the principle have been addressed and how.
This project embraces the underlying concepts of all the landscape principles. It is a result of on-going community consultation coupled with heritage research. Its design strategy explores many innovative uses of construction techniques and materials, these range from the re-enforced earth walls, clad with recycled rubble in baskets to green star rated concrete using recycled materials in lieu of traditional components. The planting for the site is provenance stock drawn from local plant communities and the site’s historic layers are finally interwoven throughout the design. The park provides a reference to the past and an eye to the future, when the plants are fully mature it will sit comfortably opposite Balls Head, its sister headland at the entrance to the Parramatta River.
How does the project promote environmental best practice through the landscape principles
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The design philosophy for the park is underpinned by environmental responsible design principles. These are;
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The use of recycled materials wherever possible, this included recycled compacted site fill behind the rubble walls as engineered fill to form reinforced earth walls, recycled rubble as a facing material to these walls, recycled aggregates for drainage and edging, recycled soils and mulch, recycled timber for seats, decking and building walls, the use of eco concrete for paths and walls. This concrete uses recycled aggregate and slag as a substitute for aggregate and cement in the concrete composition.
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The design employs low energy lighting from the grid. However the park contributes energy back to the grid via 8 vertical axis wind turbines installed within the sculptural element ‘Tank 101’.
All site stormwater is directed to planting areas for use, excess water is collected in subsurface drains where it is discharged into wetland areas for cleaning and filtering prior to being released to the harbour.
Temporary irrigation has been used for a three months establishment phase for the plants. Past this point the plants have been selected to allow for no long term irrigation. To assist in this strategy, only provenance stock has been used to revegetate the site. This approach also has the benefit of promoting the reinstatement of local biodiversity.
How does the project exhibit effective and programmed applied research.
Understanding the site’s many layers from its Aboriginal past to its occupation by Caltex was an ongoing component of the site’s design evolution. Our appreciation of the site’s history was assisted by both on and offsite heritage research. This allowed us to understand and incorporate the sites diverse history into the park experience. The site’s historic component was further revealed during the construction process where excavation works exposed additional heritage items including the sandstone foundation from the Menevia Marine villa, domestic artefacts and signage painted onto the sandstone cliffs by the Menevia’s past owner. Each of these items as they were revealed resulted in us reworking the design to incorporate them within the site story.
Relevance to the profession of landscape architects, the public and the education of future practitioners
Expands the scope of the profession in formative, forward-looking and thought provoking ways.
We believe the park design given its dominant Sydney Harbour location challenges the traditional response to material selection and composition while at the same time engaging with the harbour and the discussion on the role of sustainable initiatives in contemporary design.
Demonstrates the fusion of practice and theory
As a practice, McGregor Coxall have set out to achieve finely crafted design outcomes underpinned by environmental responsible initiatives. In the past, we have explored water sensitive urban design and material use provenance plant stock, this project extends our exploration into renewable energy and recyclable materials. We believe this project represents a step for us and the industry in understanding how sustainable issues can be addressed within high-end design.
The role and influence of the landscape architect
McGregor Coxall were the lead designers and project managers for the project. We established the design philosophy for the project in terms of materials and sustainability outcomes. We worked closely with all our design team members to ensure that these philosophies and outcomes were inherent in every aspect of the design from civil engineering through to the architecture. McGregor Coxall designed and documented all site elements including; Tank 101, staircases and balustrades, walls and the Menevia interpretive piece. The two amenities buildings and shade element were design by Choi Ropiha architects in a very collaborative manner with McGregor Coxall.
introduction / overview / images / location / Projects
2010
