| Title: | Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane, Australia |
| Markets: | Leisure and Sport, Parks and Green Spaces |
| Client: | Brisbane City Council |
| Services: | Landscape architecture |
| Region: | Asia Pacific and Australasia |
| Date: | 2002 |
An oasis in the heart of Brisbane’s Central Business District, Roma Street Parkland covers 16 hectares making it one of the world’s largest tropical gardens situated in a city centre.
Following our work for the redevelopment of South Bank Parklands, Brisbane City Council commissioned Gillespies to transform Roma Street Parklands into a signature park for Brisbane City.
Located in Brisbane’s Central Business District, Roma Street Parklands provides sixteen hectares of attractive parkland that feature a variety of themed gardens and recreational areas, interlinked by a network of pathways and boardwalks that traverse cascading waterways and rocky outcrops. The design aimed to create a park that would display various native sub‑tropical plants, many from forgotten ecosystems in Queensland, to invite wonder and interest and challenge the notion that Australian plants were dull and unsuited to urban environments.
The Parklands host a Spectacle Garden, lawns and terraces enclosed by the Serenity Garden, and the rejuvenated Albert Park. A water feature flows through the Spectacle Garden, representing the spring from which the nearby Spring Hill took its name, linking the Upper and Lower Parklands. Sculptures and artworks further add to the Parkland's visual stimulus and link the past heritage of the Parkland with its current natural and urban surroundings.
