Location:
Federation Walk Coastal Reserve, The Spit, Gold Coast.
Summary:
A landscape-led concept design for a 60-hectare coastal reserve at the Spit including ecological restoration and sensitively integrated infrastructure including signage, path networks and lookouts. The concept design is informed by the Spit master plan and the process involved extensive stakeholder and community engagement.
Key Issues / Drivers / Challenges:
Littoral Rainforest; Ecological Restoration; Oceanway; Shade; CPTED; Activation; Experience
8LA was fortunate to lead a multidisciplinary team to prepare a concept design for this important Spit site (CoastARC, Burchills, Zwart Transport Planning, Ashburner Francis, NGH and RLB). The concept design recognises the unique nature of this site and its context on the Gold Coast and the opportunities it contains to create a distinct and special, natural recreational experience on the Spit, to complement the range of other facilities that have been upgraded or a planned for upgrades in the future. The upgrades are intended to create a safe and accessible facility for all users that is sensitively integrated into the existing setting, ultimately forming part of the coastal rainforest experience in the reserve. The embellishments have to be fit for purpose, materially robust yet high quality and elegant in their execution to ensure an enduring high-quality community experience, respected by all users.
This project has benefited from the involvement of all stakeholders (the State, statutory authorities, the Council and community representatives) through an extensive workshop process where collaboration and compromise have been used to refine appropriate concept design solutions.
