Landscape architects Turf Design Studio, designed Gosford Leagues Club Park, transforming it from an empty and underutilized green space into an enviable nature-inspired regional destination.
This $10-million project was fully funded by the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC), a NSW Government entity that supports growth and economic initiatives for the Hunter and Central Coast regions.
Local Aboriginal art and culture are incorporated into the project that provides a diversity of passive and active recreation opportunities, whilst sharing the rich history of the region’s first people.
The goal of the landscape architects Turf Design Studio was to create something truly special that represents the rich character of the region.
Their overarching design objective was to provide a destination that entertains, stimulates, and captures the hearts of the community.
Gosford City, located 74 km from Sydney in New South Wales, is one of the earliest European settlements in New South Wales.
Now a thriving town, it is undergoing significant revitalization, led by a number of State government initiatives.
Gosford is undergoing a renewal of its urban design framework, aiming to strengthen its role as the regional capital city of the Central Coast.
As with every city, demographics change; here the aged population is growing whilst the city welcomes a widening variety of families from a diverse range of backgrounds.
But the regional attractions the city hosts were modest and mismatched to the emerging population’s expectations.
So the City prioritized the revitalization of the CBD and Gosford urban domain.
That was the catalyst for the Gosford Leagues Club Field redevelopment.
This new regional park weaves into the new civic space, supporting the new framework by providing an inclusive regional recreational space for the community.
The parkland is flexible in function and character.
Its design facilitates sport, play, gathering, and environmental stewardship within its 2.4ha zone.
The park’s design draws inspiration from the cultural and heritage values of Gosford.
The narrative of the Darkinjung people, the traditional custodians of the land, and the history of land reclamation that reformed the shoreline resulting in the landscape as it is today were key considerations for the Turf Studio design team.
They treated the park’s redevelopment as an ‘archaeological’ dig.
The location for Gosford Leagues Club Park was an important camp for local Aboriginal people; a place of trade and cultural exchange and a significant meeting ground.
The Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council was an active and key project collaborator.
Their shared insight created a space imbued with culture and storytelling.
During design workshops, HCCDC and Turf Design Studio learned from them the importance of ‘country’ – both land and sea – as a resource and spiritual connection.
Working with the Darkinjung, the Turf design team learned that the site was an important camp, a place of trade and cultural exchange, and a meeting ground between the Darkinjung clans and adjoining nations such as the Gadigal, Gomeroi, and Wiradjuri.
It had significance.
Elder and artist Kevin ‘Gavi’ Duncan shared important local rock carvings and suggested incorporating them into the park.
His input was pivotal in ensuring the stories of the Aboriginal community’s past, present, and future was embedded throughout Gosford Leagues Club Park.
The Turf design team used the shoreline of 1919 as a datum for the design, anchoring the key elements along its edge.
The old shoreline path is bound by the key park elements, a regional playground, community node, sporting field, and shared street.
The Gosford Leagues Club Park project also showcases innovation and ingenuity to create a play space never before experienced in Australia.
With Gosford’s waterfront cut off from the city by the busy Central Coast Highway, a unique engineering solution was used to bring an aquatic ecosystem into the park and into play.
The ‘tidal terrace’ is a large splash zone that links with nearby Brisbane Water to fill and drain with the rhythm of the natural tide.
At high tide, visitors can cool off in the shallow water, while at low tide the terrace drains to reveal the sandy bottom and sandstone islands.
This reintroduces Brisbane Water to the site for the first time in over 100 years after land reclamation changed the landscape in the early 1900s.
Other play elements are also inspired by nature, with hills, ropes, logs, and sandstone encouraging explorative play and unstructured activity.
Large play structures, reminiscent of seed pods, are linked by rope tunnels and end in a large, twisting slide.
For those seeking relaxation and connection, picnic tables and BBQ facilities help create the perfect place for family fun.
Project sponsor the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC) embraced NSW Government’s Everyone Can Play guidelines to ensure that the space offers engaging activities for the entire community.
Aquatic animal shapes in the tidal terrace, carved from local sandstone, are inspired by Aboriginal history and based on engravings at the nearby Bulgandry Aboriginal art site.
These sea creatures circle the ‘Norimbah’ community node, a circular performance space formed by 11-meter-tall timber poles.
A local Aboriginal artist painted the poles to signify land, water, people, and the universe.
Timber canoes were added as interactive artworks in the tidal terrace to represent the craft that once populated the bay.
Gosford Leagues Club Park has become a vibrant community asset.
Through the interwoven histories of the site, innovative play, and a landmark recreation destination, Leagues Club Park has successfully established an exciting new gateway to the Gosford CBD.
The Gosford Leagues Club Field seamlessly integrates itself into the region’s renewed public domain and provides a contemporary space for visitors and locals alike to appreciate the richness in character and culture that the region holds.
People of all ages visit the park to splash around, get wet and wild, and explore the natural bushland setting that will constantly change and evolve with the tidal rhythms.
Bottom line?
Judging from the community’s enthusiastic use of this asset, it looks like money well spent.
Client Testimonial
Valentina Misevska, Chief Operating Officer of the project sponsor, Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation, said:
Turf Design Studio has been instrumental in helping deliver a vibrant, inclusive place for the people of Gosford to gather, play, learn and celebrate.
Mike and his team incorporated several unique and innovative design elements that set Leagues Club Park apart from other regional play spaces, notably a natural tidal water play zone.
They also worked closely with the local Aboriginal land council to create a space that is imbued with the culture and history of the region’s original inhabitants.
Turf’s expertise, willingness to collaborate, and dedication have helped us deliver a landmark destination that will be enjoyed by the people of Gosford and the wider Central Coast for decades to come.
Project Details
Completed – 2021
Cost – $10,000,000
Project Team
Landscape Architecture
Turf Design Studio
Turf Design Studio offers a rare depth in thinking for major development and public domain; weaving together planning, design and ecology into a vibrant tapestry – creating places that are functional, fit for living, and where the hand of the designer remains largely unseen.
Construction
Landscape Solutions
Operating since 1993, Landscape Solutions are specialist commercial landscapers that offer a complete service from landscape construction to commercial landscape maintenance stages. They have a strong presence in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne and have completed many iconic projects.
Photography
Guy Wilkinson
Guy is a Sydney-based commercial photographer specializing in architectural, interiors, and design photography.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2022 Turf Design Studio. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Guy Wilkinson. All Rights Reserved.
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