Mukanthi Nature Playspace
2018 NATIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AWARD
2018 SA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
PLAY SPACES
PETER SEMPLE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
The Mukanthi Playspace at Morialta has transformed an underutilised part of the Morialta Conservation Park into a significant community facility that encourages physical activity, exploration, adventure and imagination, while fostering valuable connections to nature. The design approach integrates the new facility seamlessly into the existing site and encourages broader exploration and a greater connection to celebrate and legitimise the existing natural play experiences.
The success of the project is a reflection of the process undertaken by the design team, which involved extensive community and stakeholder consultation, including innovative engagement with children, and benchmarking against global precedents. This also included a strategic approach to the location of play destinations within the site based on vegetation, topography and existing amenities and natural play experiences.
Collaboration with Kaurna elders and an Indigenous artist, Allan Sumner, has delivered genuine inclusion of Indigenous cultural narratives, through the sculptural play elements and the introduction of Indigenous language, providing another layer to the project and an opportunity for all users to gain a greater understanding of and respect for Indigenous heritage and culture. Also of note, is the project’s strong economic sustainability approach, which included designing and fabricating all play elements within a 50km radius of the site, helping to diversify play space construction techniques in South Australia.
PROJECT NAME: MUKANTHI NATURE PLAYSPACE
AWARD CATEGORY: PLAY SPACES
AWARDS:
2018 NATIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AWARD
2018 SA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE