Hart's Mill - Playground

Built: 2014

Urban renewals play a significant role in a city's urban fabric and planning, and can take on many shapes and forms. The Hart's Mill Project is one such project pivotal to the urban regeneration program for Port Adelaide. The new space includes extensive new grassed recreation areas with trees, picnic and BBQ areas as well as multifunctional spaces for events and markets. An innovative new play space themed around the site's flour milling history is a key feature of the site. Its design draws on references of the numerous port trade activities in the wharf precinct. The adaptive re-use design approach included retaining the existing rail line in its original state to maintain a reference to the port's history and role as an export hub. It is flanked by raised green platforms designed as vessels containing new park spaces within what is a highly modified and contaminated site that has been cleaned up.