Parkside shade structure

Taylor’s Hill is a rapidly growing residential suburb located 25km to the northwest of Melbourne, Australia. Oasis Tension Structures was commissioned to design and construct an appealing shade structure over seating in a communal parkland and sports precinct. Ground Control Landscape Architects, one of Australia’s leading practices, had created an Olympic theme for the site within a new housing estate under their design management.

The site presented an interesting challenge for the design of foundations: less than 1m below the surface is an almost impenetrable layer of basalt rock. Normally, the masts would be placed into bored pier footings. However, by necessity, massive concrete slab footings with recessed hold down bolts were used to provide a flush pavement finish.