Client
Bass Coast Shire Council
Overview
Community and CultureTourism
Collaborators
Ace Contractors
Disciplines
Landscape Architecture
Urban Design
Location
Cowes, VIC
Date
2018
Imagery
David McGuiness
Cowes Foreshore is popular with residents and visitors to Phillip Island for its relaxed seaside vibe, beach activities and coastal landscapes.
Located where the Cowes main shopping strip meets the north coast of the island, the space needed a redesign to create a greener, cooler and safer place for families throughout the year.
Replacing a car park with a sloping lawn has expanded the green space at the Cowes foreshore while improving views to the jetty and the coast.
Tract was engaged by Ace Landscape Services to produce a design and documentation for a section of the Cowes Jetty Triangle area. The design intent was to transform the existing car park, adjoining lawns and road spaces into a family-friendly meeting place, a jetty access point and a multi-purpose leisure and event space.
The design elements include a memorial and garden around the cenotaph, a piazza for civic events and celebrations and a rotunda terrace and lawn areas for local markets and shaded views of the beach, along with playful sculptural features and new entry ways to the beach and jetty.
In addition to the car park transformation, extra Indigenous species and feature trees have been planted to provide more shade and frame views from the historic cenotaph and esplanade. These plantings provide habitat for local wildlife and soil stabilisation for the coastal edge.
The functional design was unanimously approved by Bass Coast Shire and secured state government funding. Today Cowes foreshore is a more welcoming space for families year-round, while also supporting the coastal ecosystem.
