Brisbane City Council has finalized its vision to transform an 18-hole inner-city golf course into a 64-hectare public greenspace replete with revegetated forests, native bushland pockets and restored waterholes.
The release of the Victoria Park Vision follows a lengthy public consultation process which included the gazetting of five speculative designs for the space prepared by Conrad Gargett, Urbis, Lat27, Place Design Group and Tract.
Brisbane City Council partnered with Lat27 to deliver the vision document. Lat 27 was the lead consultant, supported by Aurecon, Wilkinson Eyre Architects, CDM Smith, Codesign, Design Flow, Project for Public Spaces and Catherine Brouwer Landscape Achitects. Council also engaged an Aboriginal engagement consultant to work with Traditional Custodian groups.
A draft vision was released in January of this year, with public feedback incorporated into the final version. The design shown in the visions is not a fixed plan but a “flexible spatial framework,” which will provide the foundation for a masterplan to be developed from 2021. The golf course is scheduled to close for construction to begin in July 2021.
“Victoria Park will strengthen Brisbane’s reputation as one of the world’s most liveable cities, while providing a uniquely Brisbane destination for people of all ages and abilities,” said Brisbane mayor Adrian Schrinner.
Conceptual design for Victoria Park (Barrambin), Brisbane.
Known to many Aboriginal people as Barrambin, the area officially known as Victoria Park is on the traditional lands of both the Turrbul and Jagera nations.
The vision document says the project will celebrate Aboriginal cultural heritage and connection with the landscape, with the restoration of the park’s natural biological systems potentially providing Traditional Custodians a space to “practice and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs in the park.”
Key to this will be the restoration of a chain of waterholes that once flowed into the Brisbane River, as well as the creation of a large lake.
The park will also feature a cultural and visitor centre that will “welcome residents and tourists and take them deeper into the park’s natural environment and the city’s heritage.”
The vision statement notes that buildings in the park could offer a modern interpretation of traditional architecture, “mimicking the form of the landscape and the design of Aboriginal gunyahs (shelters) or traditional fish traps.”
Another key proposal depicted in the vision document is a sculptural canopy walk, winding through the trees of the park.
Also proposed is the transformation of a gentle slope on the park’s southern side into community gardens, a small urban farm or urban orchard.
The current driving range and putt-putt course will be retained along with a bistro and function centre as part of a hilltop precinct.
When the golf course is closed in mid-2021, the council will prioritize public access, “allowing visitors to enjoy the greenspaces while it is being transformed into a natural retreat and urban park for adventure, discovery and reconnection.”
