Design reveal for new Sydney CBD playground

City Centre Playground.
Image courtesy of ASPECT Studios and City of Sydney

An exciting design for an expansive new playground for children and teenagers in the heart of the city has been revealed.

The new City Centre Playground will be built in Cook + Philip Park, near William Street by the City of Sydney and features a nature play area, treehouse play structures, climbing ropes, sandpits, swings and slides.

The design also includes raised timber boardwalks, stepping stones and balancing trails, a planted dry creek bed, a picnic lawn and space for storytelling and performances.

“We know we need more places in our city for local and visiting kids to enjoy. We want to ensure that this park in the heart of our city is a welcoming and accessible place for people of all ages,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

“We have a number of wonderful playgrounds throughout the local area, and this unique playground will give the growing number of families with children living in the city their own space to play.

“The new playground will sit between Hyde Park and The Domain, and next to the Cook + Phillip Park Pool and recreation centre, giving residents and visitors many different spaces and opportunities to play, relax or be active in the City centre.

“I look forward to seeing little eyes light up at the sight of climbing ropes, slides and an imaginative natural play area.”

Since 2005, the City has created 21 new parks and undertaken major upgrades on 100 existing parks. The 500,000 children who visit cultural institutions in the area annually will now have an outside space to add to their agenda while in the city.

The playground’s design is the result of extensive consultation with local primary school students, early childhood educators, the Australian Museum and the local community. The City sought feedback from its Design Advisory Panel and Inclusion Advisory Panel, and engaged an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural consultant to help interpret the site’s Indigenous story.

The inclusive playground includes step-free access across the main play area, new accessible paths linking play zones, improved access to key entry points and accessible and ambulant toilets. Inclusive play experiences include a partially raised sand play area, wide elevated boardwalks for children using wheelchairs, custom slides, basket swings and play elements at ground level.