OUTSIDE and indoor play spaces have won awards at the 2023 Logan Urban Design Awards.
In major awards, Pebble Creek Parklands at South Maclean is a multi-million park that opened in February.
It includes a 10m tall play tower and a 33m flying fox, basketball court, ping pong, a football oval, picnic areas, off-leash dog park and adventure bike trail.
The park runs adjacent to Flagstone Creek which the old farming structures, dam, and built-up silt are being transformed. Its bank will be rehabilitated through the incorporation of 2000 new plants.
The award was for landscape architecture and urban infrastructure.
Area 51 is an indoor play area developed after the closure of an Underwood Bunnings store.
The venue also hosts Alien Night Market, run by Four Season Indoor PlayCentre, and won the category which encompasses business, programs and events.
Greenbank’s Everleigh development took home the gong for master planning.
In other awards, a sustainable, accessible and well-designed social housing project in Kingston claimed two titles at the 2023 Logan Urban Design Awards (LUDA).
‘Habitat on Juers’ – a community housing development with a difference – was awarded the overall and the architecture award.
Judges said the striking suite of homes, comprised of lightweight, cross-laminated timber and exposed brickwork, had turned heads for more than its unusual, appealing design.
The Juers Street development – designed by the Refresh Studio for Architecture – was praised for its smart use of space, while maintaining a focus on comfort, social inclusion, accessibility and energy efficiency.
Key features of the project included the north-south orientation of the homes – considered optimal for breeze and sunlight – the arranging of the dwellings around communal spaces and ample vehicle parking kept to one side.
Logan City Council’s economic development chair Jon Raven, who hosted the awards ceremony, said the development was a timely example of how innovative urban design could provide more housing choices for local families.
“Great design doesn’t have to be edgy or controversial, it can be simple and elegant – which is what we have found right here in Kingston,” Cr Raven said.
“Clever, community-focused developments like this one are exactly what we’d like to see more from developers and home buyers as our city expands.
“The quality of this year’s awards shows how many talented local designers we have working with Council to create neighbourhoods that add to the appeal and character of our communities while remaining affordable.”
Highly commended projects included:
Architecture Award
• Logan Hospital (Meadowbrook) multi-level carpark facade design, by Metro South Health and Mode Design
• The York (Beenleigh), by the Conrad Gargett Group
Business, Programs and Events Award
• Wheelnutz Garage (Meadowbrook), by Wheelnuts Garage
• Papua New Guinea 47th Independence (two-day celebration) 2022, by the Papua New Guinea Federation Queensland
• Sugar Creek Smokehouse and Trucks & Tunes Events, by Distillery Road Market (Eagleby)
The judging panel included Peter Nelson (Office of the Queensland Government Architect), Stephanie Wyeth (University of Queensland) and Dominic Powell (Archipelago).