THE centre of Fremantle could be home to a stunning new playground for kids as part of the Kings Square development.
‘Freotopia’ is the suggested name for the playscape, the draft concept of which was showcased at a community briefing last night at the Fremantle Town Hall.
Director of SeeDesign Joel Barker said the brief was to create an urban play experience.
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READ NOW“We had to find a balance to get what the children wanted and what the parents wanted,” he said.
“In the playscape we broke it into the ‘kit of parts’ which have been inspired by the urban and industrial nature of Fremantle’s history.
“There will be cranes known as the dinosaur cranes, containers, a bridge to represent the Stirling Bridge, train tracks, cottages, water play, ships and a jetty.
“Conventional play elements such as swings and slides will be integrated into custom play elements like climbable sea containers.
“Monkey bars, swings, water pumps and a mounded turf will feature in Freotopia.
“A gathering area and trees will nestle the playscape as much as possible and hold back kids from Queen Street.”
In addition to the play equipment Mr Barker said there would be art overlays which will include sound and lighting.
“The playscape would have two different types of light, bold lights on things like the trees, the cranes which are slow lingering,” he said.
“On the lower plain levels there will be more dynamic rapid fire lights which highlight different areas.
“We wanted to create a sculptural park at night instead of having a dead space.
“All of the designers were keen to use sound activation, we would write a brief of what type of sounds we wanted and ask local musicians to provide it.
“We wanted the soundscape to interface with the lighting to go through the site to really activate it.
“There will be directional speakers and it will be very subtle.”
Consultation for the project included community groups, organisations and 120 school-aged kids who take part in design workshops.
The design will be part of a report that will include all of Kings Square’s public spaces and will go to council for approval next month.
Once approved by the council, the City will move into the detailed design phase.