Projects
Mays Hill Master Plan
Design Framework
![](https://www.tyrrellstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1-Mobile-Mays-Hill-tyrrell-studio-1000x1000-1.jpg)
‘A courageous approach to contemporary park making.’ – Jury Report
Winner of the 2020 AILA NSW Landscape Architecture Award for Cultural Heritage
Transforming a golf course into an inclusive community park
In 2017, the Parramatta Park Trust needed a master plan to return the 20-hectare Mays Hill precinct (a golf course for the previous 58 years) to public use. Our brief had three parts: site the new Parramatta Aquatic Centre, improve connections to Parramatta Park and consult intensively with the community. The challenge became how and where to fit an ambitious new program while protecting the precinct’s world heritage context, mature trees and key visual relationships.
How to make an Olympic-sized swimming pool disappear
Contemporary urban parks are as much about program and activation as they are about green vistas and respite from the city. We viewed the Parramatta Aquatic Centre as a catalyst for the remaking, reorganisation and reactivation of the park. Our proposal to site the pool in the centre of the park was bold, and contrary to initial client and council expectations. The idea relied on clear principles showing how landform, access and views could help disguise the mega-structure in plain sight.
A multi-colour, multi-use hybrid path
Parramatta’s growing community wanted a lot from this park – far more than it could ever fit. So we took the essence of each requested game, scaled down to its smallest essential element and distributed them along a colourful ‘hybrid path’. The accessible path zigzags up the slope for several hundred metres, defining landform as it runs. The inside of each mound forms a ramped edge suitable for scooters and skateboards, while the path accommodates running, basketball, netball, futsal – even cricket wickets. Grassy mounds create space to relax and watch the action with children’s play equipment distributed throughout.
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