Overview
Entrant:
Athfield Architects Limited
Category:
04. Exterior Structures & Landscaping Design Award
Photographed by:
Lewis Ferris
Key team members:
Architect & Landscape Architect: Wraight Athfield Landscape Architecture
Structural Engineer: Enovate
Contractor: HEB
Timber Fabricator: Red Stag Timberlab
The creative and sensitive use of timber has been central to the new playground development at Manukau’s Hayman Park.
This new destination playground began as a 2010 design competition for an entire park upgrade. It is a play space for all ages that brings renewed vibrancy to the park. The playtower, shelter, and kiosk were the first strategic project from the competition’s ‘master plan’ to be designed and implemented.
The playground is anchored by two glue-laminated timber playtowers, among the tallest in New Zealand, if not Australasia. At 13 metres, they are comparable in scale to a three-to-four-storey building, providing a strong visual presence that helps connect the community to the revitalised park and surrounding neighbourhood.
The mostly glulam superstructure supports a range of rope bridges, slides, and other play equipment. Large V-shaped columns cantilever in one direction and form part of a portal system in the other direction to effectively brace the structure. The portal knee joints take inspiration from the timeless carpentry technique of a ‘mortise and tenon’. Glulam beams form the roof and floor structures along with sawn timber joists and decking. The project was challenging due to the complex geometry of the structure, as well as a number of unique timber connections, with its success in part due to the close collaboration and skill of fabricators Red Stag TimberLab.
The adjacent shelter, with its skeletal timber canopy, provides shade and protection over a small hospitality tenancy and public toilet kiosk. The playtower and shelter structures create dialogue with the wider playground through the use of colour, which responds to the vibrant local Pasifika community. On the playtower, muted natural timber finishes were used to allow the colourful play elements to stand out, while the canopy structure uses bright yellow painted finishes to highlight the entrance to the park and provide space for gathering.
Set amongst a stand of mature eucalyptus trees, the sustainable use of timber is expressed throughout the development. Glue-laminated pinus radiata was used as the structural frame of the playtower and shelter. This was paired with durable hardwoods such as purpleheart for non-structural elements, avoiding the need for treatment, and Robinia for timber play equipment. The pinus radiata is micronized copper azole (MCA) treated in lieu of the more commonly used CCA treatment. This selection was made to avoid the presence of chromium and arsenic within a playground, as well as avoiding the metallic corrosion risks associated with CCA treatments.
While timber has long been a material of choice for playground and park structures, the Hayman Park structures showcase the potential for timber to be used at a new and larger scale for urban public spaces.