The restoration of Ballast Point Park to public open space had been a long time in the making.
Ballast Point Park was originally a natural, wooded headland occupied by our First Nations People. It then became an industrial space, before being transformed into public open space. The design of Ballast Point Park aimed to reflect this cultural shift in seeing sites of this nature as an asset to be respected not a resource to be drawn from.
The design reconciles the layers of history with a new direction where recycled materials are used in innovative ways to create a park of unique quality.
Reinforced earth walls can be found throughout Ballast Point Park, constructed with a custom gabion face. Our teams worked closely with the builder Landscape Solutions and the landscape architect McGregor Coxall to create these unique walls, which also included the reuse of re-engineered site fill, screening and mixing onsite of specific sized and coloured recycled aggregate for the gabion infill, and intricate construction sequencing.
Solutions + Co constructed the shade shelters that sit atop the park, providing visitors with a scenic space to view the harbour. The shelter ceilings were constructed with recycled seatbelt straps, another example of innovative reuse.
Our work also included the handrails throughout the site, painted in the same colour as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and several key staircases and access points.
Ballast Point Park has been one of our most notable projects, and it was a pleasure to be a part of restoring this space to the community.
Solutions + Co acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, live, and come together. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.
