Frank McEllister Playground

Refine concept design to suit local social and economic realities.

Engage community feedback through meetings and surveys.

Ensure clear communication with Council for transparency and timely decisions.

Monitor scope and budget to avoid costly rework.

Deliver practical, community-driven design aligned with maintenance needs.

The Frank McEllister Community Park included the detail design and documentation of the major regional park in Alice Springs. The concept plan had been completed for Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) by another firm. We reviewed the conceptual design, and using our knowledge of how Territorians play and socialise, we improved the ideas and materials to fit the social, economic and maintenance realities better suited Alice Springs Town Council and the community. The way we approach our projects is methodical with check points to ensure the scope of works is within the required needs for the project, the community is being engaged and informing the project needs and the budget is being monitored to avoid costly rework. For the Frank McEllister Community Park project, we engaged with ASTC and the community directly via stakeholder meetings and online surveys. We were able to capture valuable insights from a wide cross section of the community and ensured the community received the feedback to their comments, by posting the detail design and 3D images before the project was progressed to final documentation. Our clear communication strategy with Council through the phases of the project, guided the understanding of the issues, strengths and weaknesses of the design and facilitated design changes at critical times in the design development and documentation. It also gave Council a week-by-week status of how the project was progressing and dual management of the program to gain the best outcomes for the project