oxford falls peace park
When the one room schoolhouse at Oxford Falls closed, the community managed to save it from demolition. A peace park was proposed as a way to reuse the grounds. Working with Shelley Indyk, Alfred Bernhard & Barbara MacArthur our team won a competition to design this park.
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Community consultation refined our design and defined a priority of needs. The schoolhouse was first renovated so it could facilitate functions. Its closed verandahs were opened to better intergrate the building with the landscape. These verandahs then provided a stage for dignatories at the Anzac service held each year. A local stonemason was hired to recarve the missing urn on the memorial and we built a commemorative area in which people could gather and sit for the service.
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We constructed a beautiful sandstone wall encircling the park and shielding it from a busy road. On the wall we carved artworks and inscriptions of peace from many nationalities. The wall also held and hid the amenities.
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We made a contemplative bush walk and planted a grove of plum trees donated by the people of Shinjuku Japan.
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We reasoned that world peace needs communities and individuals at peace with themselves. Hopefully this park allows individuals and groups to reflect and contemplate.
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It took many years to finish. Council worked hard to fund each stage. Now it is well-used and well-loved by the local and the wider community. I am often surprised at how many people tell me they have visited and how dear it is to their hearts.
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WHAT
landscape, art, conservation and community
WHERE
oxford falls, sydney, nsw australia
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