The design work undertaken by ASPECT Studios on stage one of the revitalisation of Jack Evans Boat Harbour is now complete and the new recreational and aquatic playground is open to the public. The upgrade to the Jack Evans Boat Harbour enriches the existing park experience to become a unique civic place of waterfront leisure. The design strongly promotes physical activity by providing a range of public domain elements such as extensive walkways and cycle-ways.
Steps, ramps for those with physical challenges, and unique water front conditions allow access to the water’s edge for swimming and boating. At 4.3 hectares, the parklands cater for a range of other uses enabled by the promenade including meeting places, weekend markets, memorials, children’s play spaces and generous green banks for relaxation.
It is also a major tourist attraction for Tweed Heads, on the Queensland and New South Wales border. The project has been developed to create a diverse, vibrant, culturally rich, recreational and tourism centrepiece for the Tweed Heads Town Centre. It is an exciting foreshore, parklands redevelopment project which will provide the impetus for critical economic revitalisation of Tweed Heads. This project is the culmination of extensive community consultation and thorough planning.
The park marks the transition between the river and the sea, framing the ever-shifting inter-tidal zone in a landscape which is in a constant state of change. The design offers a richness by creating a series of distinct experiences with the water – a new beach, beach deck, a rocky headland, urban pier, boardwalk, water amphitheatre, swimming areas, fishing points and boating. Further stages to the design will include an aboriginal meeting place, upgraded parklands and a café.
Cultural gardens, artwork story walls and space for public, community and performance art will showcase the regions rich local Aboriginal and European heritage. The redevelopment will create a public space conducive to increased local and visitor recreational use, whilst protecting and promoting the natural beauty and environment of the area.
Jack Evans Boat Harbour – Tweed Heads, NSW Australia
Client: Tweed Shire Council
Budget: AUS$8 million
Team: ASPECT Studios
Scope: Concept design, design development, documentation
Area size: 4.3 hectares
Completion date: 2011
IMAGE CREDIT: © Simon Wood
