The Bunbury Water Playground (BWP) concepts by Josh Byrne & Associates (JBA) have been presented to the City of Bunbury and the documents are now available for viewing on the City’s website.
Developed as part of the Leschenault Inlet Master Plan (LIMP), the City of Bunbury initially conducted lengthy community consultation during the months of September and October 2014 to gauge support for a water playground and to ascertain what equipment and supporting infrastructure both children and adults would like. A total of 322 people completed the survey with 100% of respondents voting in favour of a water playground.
JBA was awarded the contract for the development of two concepts for the BWP, with the project working group to decide on which concept was to be further developed.
Drawing on Bunbury’s landscape and culture, JBA Landscape Architect Hannah Lindsay developed a ‘Bunbury Horizons’ concept that depicted the flow of water from the hills to ocean; a meandering stream runs from a small waterfall through timbered play areas, through orchards and productive fields, through fields of wildflowers and ultimately ending in the Leschenault.
For JBA’s second offering, JBA Landscape Architect Luke Priddle developed an alternative ‘Under the Jetty’ theme option that draws on Bunbury’s significant coastal history and culture. This theme has now been tagged by the city as the ‘Under the Old Jetty’ theme.
Representatives of the BWP working group were impressed with both concepts that in true JBA style apply a bespoke original flare to the project whilst moving away from traditional ‘off the shelf’ manufactured equipment. The representatives decided to progress with the ‘Under the Old Jetty’ theme whilst incorporating elements of the ‘Bunbury Horizons’ theme.
The City of Bunbury will now consider the completed concept plans before taking the next steps towards making the playground a reality. Once the concept plans are adopted and funding is sourced, the design process is expected to take nine months to complete, and it is estimated that a further nine months will be required for construction.