Bokarina Wetland & Riparian Corridor

Bokarina Wetland & Riparian Corridor.


Client	Stockland
Design Partners	AECOM
State	Queensland

An environmentally-sensitive walkway allowing locals to explore the natural beauty of their local wetlands.

Bokarina Beach is a premium 30-hectare residential community overlooking Lake Kawana on the Sunshine Coast. The developers, Stockland, selected Fleetwood to collaborate on the design and construction of several key elements within the community’s expansive parklands, including a series of contemporary shelters and an environmentally-sensitive walkway allowing locals to explore the natural beauty of the surrounding local wetlands.

Our involvement.

Fleetwood was involved as a design partner from the early stages of the project. Working closely with the architects, AECOM, we helped to refine the original concept utilising a bespoke version of our Balmoral™ and Mars™ systems , before providing detailed construction, materials selection and costing advice.

Our design engineers also created 3D model renders and plan views for inclusion in the documentation sent to Council for final approval. Our manufacturing and installation teams then brought the design vision to life, delivering the wetland crossing, expertly and efficiently.

How does this project inspire people to love the outdoors?

The wetland crossing provides a key piece of connectivity along the Sunshine Coast coastline. Easy to access, it encourages residents and visitors to explore their local area, providing an immersive experience with nature.

Design Challenge

The site was in a highly sensitive ecological area, requiring a high durability/ low impact design that could safely span the wetland ‘no-go’ zone. Given the highly corrosive, high acidity environment, just 100m from the beach, the design also needed to accommodate for the use of suitable protective coatings.
Construction Challenge

Working in a highly sensitive area provided many challenges. The access corridor was severely limited due to the nature of the surrounding vegetation. Our installation methodology also had to be very low impact, something further complicated by the sandy soil which had low bearing pressure.
Innovation

To accommodate the boardwalk’s large clear span, Fleetwood created a bespoke variation on the standard Balmoral™ system. Careful selection of materials also saw the team specify an innovative protective coating and Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) for the boardwalk subframe and deck.
Features
- Low impact solution involving Fleetwood’s Balmoral™ and Mars™ systems
- Low profile design, nestled into the landscape
- Dulux 10-year warranty on all painted finishes
Catalogue Products
- Balmoral™ bridge (Adjusted to create a completely bespoke offering)
- Mars™ boardwalk (Adjusted to create a completely bespoke offering)
Safety & Risk Considerations

Environmental risks were a governing factor at every stage of the project. As one example, due to the site’s restricted access, the size and weight of the bridge sections needed to be carefully considered as part of our safety in design process.
Sustainability Considerations

Given its proximity to a highly sensitive wetland and frog habitat, due consideration needed to be given to the impact of the boardwalk on the surrounding landscape. The harsh conditions of the coastal location also meant choosing materials that were highly durable yet low maintenance to minimise ongoing impacts. Beyond this, all timber was sourced from certified sustainably grown Australian Forests and the FRP subframe and decking included recycled materials.