Bradbury Park Playscape in Kedron, Brisbane is proof that community infrastructure can be both joyful and judicious. Crowned winner of the ASI’s 2025 Sustainability Awards (Small Projects), the sculptural ‘architecture-meets-play’ tower was completed in 2023 and has since collected a sweep of design honours, including Greater Brisbane People’s Choice Award, the John Dalton Award for Building of the Year, and the Queensland Architecture Medallion.
A certified Australian steel supply chain
Designed by Alcorn Middleton Architecture and engineered by Bligh Tanner, the playscape was fabricated and assembled by BridgeFab, with local government funding. The steelwork used tube from Austube Mills (Acacia Ridge), with raw steel produced by BlueScope at Port Kembla and purchased via Vulcan Steel—delivering 100% Australian manufacture and full traceability to AS/NZS 1163:2016 C450L0.
BridgeFab held AS/NZS 5131 CC2 during construction and has since achieved CC3 plus Steel Sustainability Australia (SSA) Level 3 certification for two consecutive years, underpinning governance, ethical sourcing and quality assurance. BlueScope’s third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) supported transparent carbon accounting across inputs.
Cutting carbon by design
Steel was chosen to realise the architect’s organic, tower-based form while keeping the structural footprint lean. Bligh Tanner optimised the frame, specifying higher-strength GR450 in place of GR350 to reduce overall tonnage without compromising performance. BlueScope products incorporated 23.3% recycled content, lowering embodied emissions per tonne, and local manufacture helped trim transport impacts. The team used recognised EPD data to measure upfront carbon and guide decisions, aligning the project with contemporary carbon-management practice.
Built for circularity and longevity
Sustainability is engineered into the connections. The playscape’s steel is modular and bolted—no site welding—so components can be disassembled for reuse or, at minimum, separated cleanly for high-value recycling at end-of-life. Fabrication offcuts were tracked and recycled via BridgeFab’s SSA Level 3 systems.
The entire structure is hot-dip galvanized, delivering long-term corrosion resistance, eliminating on-site painting (and associated VOCs) and improving whole-of-life outcomes. Digital traceability ran end-to-end: BridgeFab’s paperless management system linked 3D models to robotic coping and cutting, reducing manual handling, cutting rework and steel waste by approximately 10%.
Safer construction, better community outcomes
Prefabrication and bolted assembly reduced temporary works and on-site risk, supported by AS/NZS 5131:CC3 quality assurance processes. The open-air tower promotes natural ventilation and daylight, with clear sightlines and accessible pathways to encourage active, inclusive play, particularly for 10 to 15-year-olds.
Project delivery relied on a local Queensland workforce and apprenticeships, strengthening skills and regional capability while minimising disruption through modular pre-assembly. Collaboration across Alcorn Middleton, Bligh Tanner, BridgeFab and builder Epoca Constructions—from early connection design to Trimble-enabled coordination—kept the program tight despite site challenges, and amplified sustainability benefits.
The upshot: Bradbury Park Playscape shows how a certified Australian steel supply chain, digital traceability and design-for-deconstruction can produce a durable, low-impact landmark that communities love. It’s a replicable template for councils seeking playful public spaces with measurable sustainability built in.
PROJECT TEAM
- Architect: Alcorn Middleton Architecture
- Engineer: Bligh Tanner
- Head Contractor: Epoca Constructions
- Steel Fabricator: BridgeFab
