INTRODUCTION
Landscape Architect: Andrew McNeice, Landscape Architect for Queanbeyan City Council
Location: Parks & Recreation Office, Queanbeyan City Council
265 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan NSW. (Crn of Crawford & Rutledge St)
Queanbeyan City Council has seen the need to promote sustainable living through several projects. One such project was the design of the Sustainable Residential Garden Design - Demonstration Gardens, which was also assisted with funding from the Murrumbidgee Catchment Authority.
The council has several offices in cottages spread around the CBD and this was the ideal location to develop the demonstration gardens. The goal of these gardens was to remove a majority of the irrigated lawns around the cottages then design aesthetically pleasing, sustainable, practical and viable landscape spaces for residential private gardens with a limited budget.
The gardens were to incorporate water sensitive design with consideration for drought and salt tolerance vegetation, mulches and paths while maintaining an attractive landscape that covers the large multicultural and diverse population of the Queanbeyan Local Government Area. Water tanks and dry creek beds were included to help preserve our precious resource as well as providing design features to the common residential spaces.
A total of three small scale demonstration gardens (a Bush Garden, Formal Garden and Semi-formal Garden) have been designed and developed to introduce and reinforce to Queanbeyan residence to the importance of careful design and planning to create sustainable landscapes.
pdf brochures: | Bush Garden | Formal Garden | Semi-formal Garden
Each garden is individual in design layout and function but all share common elements of design that would be found in regular gardens such as vegetation options, furniture (each is different designs) and paths/ paving.
Signage was added to each garden to educate the visitors to the style of garden, typical plant species chosen (and what biodiversity may occur with this such as what fauna these spaces and plants may attract) and water wise tips for each garden.
Rather then creating a designer garden for the high end clients it was an important design requirement to show the public that they can achieve good looking, functional, maintainable and sustainable landscapes that they can achieve themselves with a limited budget.
Sculptures and most furniture was created by QCC staff using recycled materials or easy to obtain materials to assist in creating a sustainable environment.
Submitting this project for the AILA 2010 ACT Design award focuses on designing and constructing of practical demonstration water sensitive and sustainable gardens for public awareness. The gardens have been a feature within The Queanbeyan Age, ABC local Radio and other programs and publications from within QCC.
introduction / overview / location / presentation / Projects
2010
