The project ties together existing and new elements within Myrtleford’s Jubilee Park. Crossing points, public artwork and a pedestrian bridge over Happy Valley Creek are linked to new shelters, a lookout and refurbished public toilets through a series of intersecting linear paths. This creates a number of axis and intersections that in turn drive the geometry of the new structures.
In conjunction with Michael Smith and Associates Landscape Architects, Workshop Architecture developed the concept designs produced by MDG Landscape Architects. Focussing on the built structures and refurbishment of the toilets, we initially assessed the existing concept design to identify any opportunities for improvement in the design. This led to small but significant changes, such as the re-orientation of the lookout and shelter in order to make the most of existing views along Happy Valley Creek.
Our second consideration was in how the initial visualisations of these structures could develop in a cohesive, meaningful way. We determined that this as variations on their simple, but core architectural requirement – to provide screens of different kinds:
– For protection from weather
– For privacy upon entry to the toilets
– To provide a balustrade at the edge of the viewing platform
– To provide a balance between enclosure and visual openness
A simple, elegant construction detail layers levels of screening, creating areas that are more or less dense, more or less open. This detail uses spotted gum pickets that follow the geometries of the overall forms, shifting between zones of double or single spacing. The depth of the picket is used to create a chamfered bottom edge, creating a comb—like appearance, a feathered edge between one density and the next. The structures that support these screens is likewise derived from the geometry at the larger scales, giving a unified appearance from lookout to bbq shelter, toilets and bus stop.
Services Provided
Full Services
Architect
Workshop Architecture
People
Project Director: Simon Whibley Project Team: Simon Whibley, Ming Lie, Jacqueline Tang Photographer: Workshop Architecture
Date completed
March, 2019
Location
Myrtleford, VIC 3737
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