Bronwyn Mulligan is the Principal Landscape Architect at Beveridge Williams and has been designing landscapes for local governments and the private sector for the past fifteen years. Bronwyn has been leading the delivery of Oak Grove’s newest neighbourhood park project, one of the jewels in the crown of our prominent masterplanned community in Clyde North, Melbourne.

In our recent interview, Bronwyn shared how the adventure park will highlight inclusivity and intergenerational usage as key design principles, with innovative and sustainable features to result in a highly flexible and celebrated amenity within Oak Grove’s delivery of the Stage 3 precinct.

A park designed for everybody

Seeking to deliver a park to cater to all abilities, Bronwyn explains that the neighbourhood park will provide a range of accessibility features that allow residents and locals to enjoy the space in a personalised way. The park has been designed to feature accessible play areas using materials that allow wheelchairs and prams to enter freely. Sensory play will be facilitated through elements such as timbers and sands used for active and passive recreation, allowing everybody to enjoy a space that suits them. Some other features of the adventure park include:

• Calming gender-neutral spaces
• Sand tables for wheelchair users
• Informative signage throughout the densely planted Conservation Area
• Subdued and natural colours of play equipment
• Sections of the space that will be fenced
• Shelters & amenity areas

“We want to provide an intergenerational space for all ages and all abilities. A reserve that caters to everyone and every use,” Bronwyn says.

A park for all seasons

Central to the park design is the importance of integrating the natural cooling elements of the Clyde North environment. The adventure park’s planting palette will include large canopy trees to shade visitors from the natural heating elements when playing with nature.

By approaching the adventure park design this way, Bronwyn explains, “Families can visit the reserve year-round, experiencing the changing seasons and immersing themselves in the Indigenous Clyde environment.”

A play space unlike any other

 “The adventure playground gives back to the biodiversity of the area”, Bronwyn says.

Inspired by the surrounding environment, the playground includes natural materials and incorporates tree-themed structures, teepee huts, and steppers where kids can safely explore nature.  This atmosphere encourages uninformed play, which is not prescribed, and promotes creativity and imagination.

“People will be drawn to this space, and as a result, the park will cater for a wide range of people, and a range of play experiences,” she says.

Families and friends in the Clyde North community will also be able to use the space for social gatherings, made possible by barbeque facilities and sheltered areas for picnics and events.

Find our guide to living like a local in Clyde North here.