{"id":28829,"date":"2026-08-31T19:30:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T01:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/?p=28829"},"modified":"2026-08-31T19:30:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T01:30:32","slug":"central-park-all-abilities-playspace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/en\/interventions\/central-park-all-abilities-playspace\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Park all abilities playspace"},"content":{"rendered":"

SBLA Studio invites us to discover <\/span>Central Park all abilities playspace,<\/b> located in Malvern, Naarm\/Melbourne.<\/span> Developed by SBLA Studio in collaboration with the City of Stonnington, this inclusive playground offers an experience of sensory exploration, where art and landscape function as the main tools for play and discovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m a home too\u201d, says the old lemon scented gum in the middle of Central Park Playspace, within an old gardenesque park in Malvern, Naarm\/Melbourne. Designed by SBLA Studio with the City of Stonnington as an all-abilities playspace, the project invites a dialogue between children’s senses and the natural world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The site already had strong ingredients: mature canopy, an ornate nearby glasshouse, layered planting and the quiet character of an established public garden. Rather than clearing a space and placing a playground on top of it, the design works with what was already there. The existing trees became the main structure of the playspace. Their trunks, roots, canopies and shadows shaped where things could sit, how children might move, and where parents and carers might pause.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A wobbly path for all\/ Un camino tambaleante para todos
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

The project began with close collaboration between SBLA Studio and the City of Stonnington. Council\u2019s ambition was for an inclusive playspace that would be playful and generous. On-site consultation with specialist groups and children with disabilities and neurodivergent needs, supported by online surveys and social media call-outs, helped shape a playspace for different bodies, ages, sensory needs and ways of playing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A message from the children \u2013 part one\/ Un mensaje de los ni\u00f1os- parte uno
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

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A message from the children \u2013 part two\/ Un mensaje de los ni\u00f1os- parte dos
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

A key idea was to use artwork and landscape to carry much of the play experience. Instead of relying on conventional play equipment, the design creates small encounters, stories and discoveries. Children move through the space looking for things: a face in a tree, a ceramic insect, a hidden door, a strange creature in the rocks, a small world inside a cloche. Play happens through noticing as much as climbing, spinning or sliding.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finding delight within the cloche\/ Encontrando alegr\u00eda bajo la campana de cristal
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

The nearby glasshouse and botanical life of the park became important references. The playspace celebrates the macro and micro worlds of plants: seeds, pods, insects, fungi, grasses, trees and the hidden life of the soil. A custom gate marks the entry. Water misters borrow their form from the glasshouse atrium. Cubby structures take cues from greenhouse frames and shadows. Rustic fences and endemic planting all contribute to a place where botany becomes something children can touch and invent stories around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Central Park Playspace is an inclusive playspace that uses art and landscape as the main tools for play.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Joy amidst the mist\/ Alegr\u00eda entre la niebla
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

At the centre of the playspace is a large lemon-scented gum. Previously standing in lawn, it now sits within a maze of mulch, native plantings and little footpaths, becoming a calm centre to the project. Around it are places for children to play and adults to rest. The tree is part of the experience: a source of shade, scale, habitat and atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Find the friendly face of the tree!\/ \u00a1Encuentra el rostro amistoso del \u00e1rbol!
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout the project, artworks make the landscape feel alive. Existing trees have been given ceramic eyes, eyebrows, noses and mouths. Fairy doors, rock creatures and endemic ceramic bugs are tucked into planting and stone. These pieces were custom made by Tasmanian ceramicist Julia Russ. They are small, funny and slightly magical.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Small sculptures invite closer inspection\/ Peque\u00f1as esculturas invitan a una observaci\u00f3n m\u00e1s cercana
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

Accessibility is woven into the play experience. A custom wobble path creates a sensory journey for children moving through the landscape in wheelchairs. Accessible swings and spinners allow shared forms of movement and play. Slides and climbing elements sit within the footprint of the former playground, keeping a familiar type of play while the wider landscape expands what play can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Opening the gate to a secret garden\/ Abriendo la puerta a un jard\u00edn secreto
Photography\/ Fotograf\u00eda: SBLA Studio<\/p><\/div>\n

Central Park Playspace is the result of a trusting collaboration between SBLA Studio, the City of Stonnington and Terraform Landscape Contractors. <\/span>It is a place where inclusive play is held within <\/span>the <\/span>landscape.<\/span> Its joy comes not only from what children can do, but from what they can sense, imagine and find.<\/span><\/p>\n

Studio Profile:<\/b><\/p>\n

SBLA Studio\u00a0insist on reusing materials, listening carefully to others, celebrating the messiness of ecologies, and making sure they have fun making places that are comfortable to be in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SBLA Studio invites us to discover Central Park all abilities playspace, located in Malvern, Naarm\/Melbourne. Developed by SBLA Studio in collaboration with the City of Stonnington, this inclusive playground offers an experience of sensory exploration, where art and landscape function as the main tools for play and discovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":482,"featured_media":28830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interventions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t