Bradbury Park Playscape in Kedron has been named Brisbane’s Building of the Year at the prestigious Greater Brisbane Regional Architecture Awards. The revolutionary anti-screen time playground took home four major honours on Friday night, including the John Dalton Award for Building of the Year and the Greater Brisbane People’s Choice Award.
Designed by Joel Alcorn and his team at Alcorn Middleton, the playscape was conceived to lure teenagers aged 10-15 away from digital devices by providing an adventurous play experience resembling the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of Mad Max films.
“They wanted to cater for that age bracket to get them back in the world because they’re so digitally focused now,” said Alcorn.
With features like a 6m high balancing beam, climbing walls, tunnels evoking hollowed logs, and a massive slide, the jury praised the “pioneering approach” that “reimagines the traditional playground.” They highlighted how it builds risk-taking into play in an innovative way.
Alcorn explained, “We’ve never designed a playground before so we came in with a unique perspective and challenges. We had to entertain a certain age group so what we offered had to be more adventurous than your typical playground.”
The jury lauded it as “a new benchmark for both government and private industry in the provision of innovative play for older children”.
The unconventional Bradbury Park Playscape captivated judges and public alike, setting a new standard for playground ambition in Brisbane.
Published 6-May-2024
