In response to the forecast demand for open space and parkland, City of Gold Coast acquired 240 hectares of low-lying land at the centre of the cities urban footprint between Nerang, Robina, Mudgeeraba and Clear Island Waters to provide current and future city residents and visitors with generous and diverse recreational opportunities in a central location on the Gold Coast.
Burchills Engineering Solutions and AECOM have partnered to prepare the Master Plan for the truly world class iconic open space Greenheart Parklands project for City of Gold Coast. The design team was hand selected to provide best-for project outcomes and bring a balance of broad design thinking underpinned by detailed local knowledge and technical fluency.
Burchills scope of consultancy services includes input to the development of the Master Plan for Gold Coast Central Park, design report recommendations and production of design plans for Civil Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Environment and Ecology. The key technical aspects of the Master Plan design include:
Geotechnical conditions on the subject site was a significant constraint that needed to be explored, with the available soil on site (marine clays) generally unsuitable for structural fill unless the proper soil improvement strategies were employed.
The proposed Greenheart parklands is situated on the Guragunba Floodplain surrounded by primarily existing residential development. The floodplain is sensitive to hydraulic changes and therefore significant flood impact assessment works were undertaken to ensure that the development did not cause adverse hydraulic conditions external to the subject site.
Integration with the proposed Green Heart wetlands project was a key requirement of the project, that sees the water sensitive urban design asset integrated within the park complex. Pedestrian routes and viewing platforms were recommended to enhance the amenity of the wetland system.
Intersection modelling and transport planning considering a road network link between Stadium Drive, being the main access point, and Gilgai Road and investigation of an alternative secondary connection from Robina Parkway.
Trasport modelling includes assessment of the change in traffic flows associated with the development on operational capacity and road safety at the locations based on design years, growth forecasts, committed development utilising the City of Gold Coast Strategic Transport Multi Modal Model (GCSTM-MM).
Burchills transport also advice included Vehicular Access Strategy including Car Parking, Active Transport Strategy, Public Transport Strategy, Water Transport Strategy and Event Management.
The Breakwater development is located in Robina on the Gold Coast QLD. The masterplan envisages a lakeside community with over 2000 dwellings that includes the construction of large lakes that are well integrated into the natural landscape and responsive to the extensive constraints.
The project has adopted an innovative approach to designing a new residential community on the Gold Coast, presenting a consolidated and clear vision for the future Breakwater Robina community that capitalises on its position alongside the City of Gold Coast’s Principal Activity Centre of Robina. The site sits on the largest floodplain in the Gold Coast Local Government Area, influenced by the Nerang River as well as multiple creek systems.
The site has multiple constraints including but not limited to extensive flooding, major earthworks including mass hauls, poor soils (marine clays), groundwater, localised overland flow, protected vegetation, acid sulphate soils, existing services that are at capacity, as well as sensitive neighbouring communities (school, hospital, residences, etc,).
Due to the number of constraints, and due to our extensive experience in dealing with multi-discipline projects, Burchills was appointed Lead Engineer for the project. We have successfully worked through solutions for the management of each constraint with various approval agencies, and multiple stakeholders, to form an overall development strategy that is cognisant to how each issue affects the other.
The management of these issues have also flowed through to construction. Earthworks for the site comprised over 2,000,000m3 of material across 100 hectares. Burchills was able to lead the development design process to overcome the ultimate design challenges, and also solve constructability issues associated with interdependent constraints during design and planning phases.
