The Ponds is a prominent development with significant community interest. With the stakes and expectations set very high, it was essential to create structures and artworks of the highest possible standard.

Many of the individual design elements were also very intricate, so we needed to ensure the artists’ and architects’ visions, which featured different mediums and finishes, were never compromised in any way.

Given the close proximity of many elements to the local ponds and lake, the designs also needed to integrate best practice water management, together with consideration of the local bushland and riparian corridors.

Each structure at The Ponds Parklands had its own unique challenges to be overcome. However an ongoing challenge was identifying the most time and cost effective ways to deliver each structure, while keeping community disruptions to an absolute minimum.

Public grand openings had also been scheduled, providing additional time pressures to ensure the promised structures and installations could be designed, developed and delivered to coincide with these unmovable dates.

The flood-susceptible terrain provided further challenges on several projects for our design and construction teams.

Our work at The Ponds Parklands involved many innovations. For example, the support structure for the ‘red’ bridge over the lake involved some clever engineering, especially to align the slim supports in a single fashion centrally under the deck. Many clients have since seen this and asked for similar designs.

The community bridges are also designed with flooding overflow in mind, with balustrades featuring a purpose-designed mechanism allowing them to fold in the event of a flood, therefore not caching debris which could force the bridge to overturn or fail.

• The Float, The Dragonfly Wall and Ponds Dreaming (public artworks)
• 9 large-scale pedestrian and cycleway bridges with collapsible handrails
• Curved hardwood boardwalks

All boardwalks had to be 100% compliant with the relevant Australian standards. The depth of the water and height of boardwalks also had to be considered to ensure, where no handrails were used, fall zones were compliant. Child-proof balustrades were used elsewhere.

The hardwood used at The Ponds was sustainably sourced with Chain of Custody proof. To avoid water contamination during works around The Lake, the lake was actually temporarily de-watered and then replenished – no water went to waste.