Project Name: Carrum Foreshore
Practice Name: Urban Initiatives Pty Ltd
Project Address: Carrum Foreshore
In 2012 the City of Kingston upgraded the Carrum Surf Life Saving Club and the adjacent foreshore precinct. High quality and creative lighting has played a pivotal role in the successful upgrading of this seaside precinct to create an innovative and exciting destination for residents and visitors.
Urban Initiatives were engaged as lead consultants for the foreshore upgrade component by City of Kingston’s Parks Department. 2B Designed were engaged as specialist lighting design consultants. David Bird from 2B Designed said: “Council … requested that we create some magic at night for the residents as well as to attract visitors from the nearby main road and railway station”. Removal of all existing overhead electrical infrastructure was also critical to de-clutter the space.
The design established a new pedestrian 'breezeway' link from Patterson River through to the Carrum foreshore precinct and includes a combination of elevated timber boardwalks and paths, a children’s playground, an open deck with public toilets and shelters as well as the upgrading of the car park and access road lighting.
Kire Bogoevski from 2B Designed explained that his inspiration for the lighting came from the bioluminescence sparkle found in nature along many coastlines. He created this effect with random LED marker lights supported by tight pools of illumination on the boardwalk through the breezeway between the clubhouse and the toilet block. The washing of the breezeway with “Kingston Blue” uplighting helps to create the illusion of swimming under water. The deck area around the playground is silhouetted with additional blue light grazing the sand, further adding to the near-water experience.
Consultation with the adjacent residents was critical in the design of both the car park and roadway lighting. To reassure local residents a design mock-up demonstrated that the fittings and poles had minimal visual impact. Inbuilt motion detectors ensures that the illumination is sufficient (P11C) when there is traffic in the car park, and reduced (P3) at all other times during the evening.
High-quality LED fittings were chosen due to their low maintenance requirements and superior lighting characteristics. The anodised aluminium and timber-clad finishes are discrete and integrate well with the natural qualities of the Carrum foreshore, are repeated in the playground area, and provide a unified aesthetic with the timber boardwalk and site furniture.
The overall landscape and lighting design has met the City of Kingston’s objective of revitalising the Carrum foreshore and making it more appealing to residents and visitors alike from the perspectives of greater safety, usability and sustainability.
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