campus design.

Campus landscapes need to be robust and legible environments. A successful campus design will provide a range of spaces for staff, students and visitors to inhabit for education and recreation, and an intuitive way of navigating between these spaces. Way-finding can be achieved through the subtle application of landscape treatments to encourage people to choose a hierarchy of navigation options and orientate themselves within the site.

nature play.

Nature play represents a return to playgrounds that comprise of natural elements that nurture childhood development through unstructured play. Provided in tandem with conventional educational environments, nature play can promote mental and physical wellbeing. A successful nature playground will provide calculated risks recognising that these are far healthier for children’s development than a totally de-risked play environment.

This masterplan provides an authentic and engaging design outcome for a school in the geographically isolated town of Kununurra, Western Australia. Despite its preliminary stage, the project exemplifies the role of the landscape architect in collaborative and culturally sensitive partnerships. Recognizing that the school was the future of the community, the design team consulted with major stakeholder groups including the Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts centre and, as a result, the final design is rich in its cultural connectivity. The masterplan builds on the existing school curriculum and fosters continued learning of the Miriwoong language through outdoor classrooms, language posts and artworks. The contribution to the wider community is significant, building greater community involvement with St Joseph’s and the continued preservation of the culture and language of the Miriwoong people, of which fewer than 20 fluent speakers remain.

design.

Playgrounds & Recreation

Public Open Space

Urban