Scots College
LOCATION
Bellevue Hill, NSW
YEAR
2024
CLIENT
The Scots College Junior
TEAM
Umbaco Landscape Architects | Gardenmakers | Play Workshop | Photography by Andrew Vincent |
AWAKENING THE LIONS
The long overdue Junior School play area upgrade at Scots College has finally arrived. Based on the student’s inspiration of a tree house we designed a play structure that reflects the boys’ sense of adventure and their wishes for dynamic tree climbing escapades.
A series of decks wrapping around the existing tree trunks create real connections to the trees. Rope bridges join a loop circuit to the main structure. Agility, strength, balance, movement and speed of reaction; the boys can advance these skills swinging across the rope bridges, wriggling through and climbing the intricate ladders, clambering up the totem pole and then sliding down or negotiating the wobbly Australian native centipede. All elements of the main structure are inter-connected and lead ultimately to the ‘observatory’ tower, a meeting point just under the tree canopy and providing a connection to nature.
The Scots emblem is present here with a pride of Lions lying in a new sandpit with sandstone platforms in this small retreat from the active playground.
