Balwyn Landscaping - Commercial Project

Balwyn is an inner eastern suburb of Melbourne and lies in the northern part of the city of Boroondara. It was in this area that grazier John Gardiner settled near the point where Gardiners creek meets the Yarra River. The commercial editor of the Argus, Andrew Murray built house named Balwyn which gives the area its name.

How far is Balwyn from the Melbourne CBD?

Balwyn is only 10 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD and in an easterly direction. It was once serviced by the outer loop railway station at Deepdene.

Balwyn Community Centre

The Balwyn Community Centre at 412 Whitehorse Road Surrey Hills was upgraded to ensure it would continue to support the needs of the local Balwyn Community. As well as the upgrades to the buildings, there were landscaping works for the parkland, natural wetlands, exposed aggregate concrete pathways and tennis courts.

Balwyn Community Centre Scope of works.

The hard landscaping for the Community Centre

The scope of work for this project included the following hard landscaping construction;

Plain, coloured and exposed aggregate concrete,
In-situ or poured in place concrete garden retaining walls,
Exposed aggregate concrete driveway crossovers,
Concrete upstands, edges, ramps stairs and landings.

The soft landscaping for Balwyn Community Centre

The scope of work for this project included the following soft landscaping installation;

The planting of advanced indigenous trees
The application of appropriate fertilizers
Lawn areas
The planting of native grasses and ornamental plants
Aggregate and Gravel
Imported top soil to Australian Standards
A sophisticated Irrigation System
Areas of mass planting
Mulched garden beds
Planting of Australian Native Shrubs
Garden edging.

Existing trees at the Community Centre

The existing tress on the site included the following;

Pin Oak (Quercus palustris),
River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) ,
Narrow leaved black Peppermint (Eucalyptus nicholii),
Lemon scented gum (Corymbia citriodora),
Prickly leaved Paperbark ( Melaleuca styphelioides)
Forest Oak (Allocasuarina torulosa),
Drooping She-oak (Allocasuarina verticilata)
Smooth Barked Apple ( Angophora Costata)

Nearly all of these existing trees were kept in the new landscape design.

Native Wetlands

Later in the project rehabilitation of native wetlands was added including a child proof fence.

Tennis Court Repairs and reconstruction

Part of the landscaping included repairs to a tennis court and the construction of another tennis court. A good sport surface must be stable, therefore the new tennis court was constructed with asphalt over 300 mm of roadbase.

Synthetic clay Tennis Court surface

A low maintenance synthetic clay tennis court surface was required to laid over the asphalt. Therefore, the surface chosen was Grassports Policlay. In addition to being low maintenance, Grassports Policlay is a fast draining low maintenance water free tennis surface resulting in the ideal surface for public tennis courts. A high quality sporting surface was required, therefore the asphalt surface was flattened rigorously in preparation. The very thick roadbase foundation will also help to maintain the stability of the playing surface. Root barriers we also installed to prevent invasive tree roots causing any unevenness to the playing surface.

Soft play surfaces

The soft play coloured surfaces in the landscape was required, so an EPDM rubber was chosen. In addition to its great colour range, EPDM is a synthetic rubber widely used in the automotive industry. Similarly, its mechanical properties make it ideal for this application. For instance, it has great UV stability, abrasion resistance, ozone resistance and it is water proof. So, the material used was Playkote which was installed as a rubber wet pour over SBR underlay. In addition to the added height, the SBR underlay makes the play surface a little softer.

Outdoor Exercise Equipment

Environmentally Friendly Garden Furniture

Garden furniture including picnic tables, benches and seats were installed to add to the public amenity. In addition to the the amenity and aesthetic provided, recycled materials were also used. To this end, the material used was Enviroslat. Enviroslat is an environmentally friendly low maintenance material produced from HDPE waste mixed with recycled cellulose. The recycled cellulose hardwood waste and rice husks.