22. February 2021

Bim‘bimba Park in Queensland, Australia

Bim'bimba Park is located in the middle of the Mirvac Master-planned Community Gainsborough, Greens in Queensland, Australia and is the heart of the community. It is the central connecting element in a network of different open spaces within a series of residential islands around Gainsborough Greens Golf Course by integrating the residential area into the adjacent environmental reserve. The intention for the park was to use the raw and natural beauty of the landscape to create an inspiring play and communal space that encourages local awareness of ecology and sustainability initiatives.

The result is an extraordinary park, in the center of which a varied and natural playground has been created. The highlight is a 14 meters high climbing tower made by Berliner Seilfabrik, equipped with two different slides at different heights. The made-to-measure model takes up the shape of an Australian bottle tree, the striking shape of which is characterized by a particularly thick and bulbous trunk.

“In order to maintain the distinctive shape of the trunk of the Australian bottle tree, a total of eight posts were bent into the appropriate shape,” says Marius Kotte, head of the construction and development department at Berliner Seilfabrik. “Thanks to the most modern bending machines, we are able to bend tubes up to a diameter of 133 mm with a wall thickness of 10 mm in-house and thus are able to respond to our customers’ custom design requests.”

To complete the appearance of the bottle tree, transparent steel panels were installed in the upper area of ​​the tower, the milled pattern of which shows the foliage of the bottle trees. The wall elements on the other levels are either provided with a fine-meshed steel net ensuring high transparency, or they are clad with bamboo panels. “By using bamboo, we not only achieved the natural look we wanted for the climbing tower, but we also took up and implemented the sustainability concept of this special place,” says Kotte. From a botanical point of view, bamboo is grass and not tree wood. The advantage of this is that it grows back, even when it is harvested. – Bamboo panels are in fact stronger than normal wood and are a more sustainable option for the park. In the long run, using Bamboo instead of wood saves resources and follow-up costs.

Direct entry into the tower is via two ascent nets, which leads climbers through a narrow opening to a first, close closed mesh level net area. From here the ascent begins over a huge space network. On the way up you come across several rest options in the form of rubber membrane mats, which are incorporated into the spatial network and invite you to relax. Those who make it all the way to the top will once again reach a level net area and can enjoy a fantastic view in all directions. A stainless Steel tunnel slide then ensures a rapid exit.
 
Another exciting access to the tower can be through the almost 35 meters long network tunnel. Between a total of 20 posts, some of which are inclined, the tunnel, made of close-meshed nets, which run in the form of a wide curve rising from the ground to a height of 4.70 meters which is directly connected to the tower. Halfway through the tunnel, there is a treehouse made of bamboo panels, which can also be reached by a rope ladder.

Those who prefer to climb in a horizontal direction will get their money's worth on the exciting low ropes course with a total of nine different climbing elements. Over 30 meters can be climbed here in one go, with different levels of climbing being offered. The playground is attractive for all age groups and offers development opportunities for the younger ones.

A combination of different swings round off the playground in Bim'bimba Park. In addition to a nest swing, which offers fun for several people at the same time, two swing seats for small children are offered here. 

The lead landscape architect Matt Franzmann from the landscape architecture office Form is satisfied with the work and the result. “The commitment of the community and the cooperation with an interdisciplinary team were crucial to achieving what we consider an extraordinary park and playground experience”, writes Franzmann on Form website.

To top off this extraordinary project, the landscape architects from Form received a prize in the Parks and Open Space category at the annual AILA Queensland Landscape Architecture Awards, which are presented by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. The judges were enthusiastic and wrote in their reasoning: “This project shows a very well executed and impeccably detailed center for play and recreation for the Gold Coast community, which is rich, exciting, and detailed in its history. It is underpinned by simple design principles that carefully respond to the environment and provide a range of spaces for active play and relaxation. Congratulations!”