Gateway Park — A Civic Threshold for Edmondson Park
Client: Landcom Places Contractor: Landscape Solutions
Gateway Park was conceived as a landmark public space marking the southern entry to the Edmondson Park residential precinct and town centre. Commissioned by UrbanGrowth NSW, the project occupies a highly visible yet compact site at the corner of Zouch Road and Campbelltown Road, adjacent to the newly delivered Edmondson Park Railway Station on Sydney’s South West Rail Link.
The land holds deep cultural significance, forming part of a transitional meeting ground for several Aboriginal language groups, including the Darug, Gandangara, Dharawal and Cabrogal peoples
This layered history, combined with the site’s role as a contemporary gateway, informed a design approach that balances cultural acknowledgement, public art and landscape as a unified civic expression.
ecodesign was engaged to design and detail the landscape setting for Camouflage, a commissioned public artwork by Matthew Harding. The sculpture provides a figurative interpretation of the Cumberland Plains Woodland, referencing the ecological communities that once characterised the area. The landscape was developed in close dialogue with the artwork, ensuring the surrounding spaces reinforced rather than competed with its presence.
Although modest in scale — approximately 835 square metres — the site occupies a pivotal position within the precinct.
Bounded by two major roads and neighbouring an electrical substation, the park needed to operate as a visual marker, a place of pause and a safe, accessible public space for the community. A gentle west-to-east fall across the site provided subtle opportunities for landform articulation and spatial definition.
The planting design responds directly to the region’s natural context. Native species were selected and arranged in organic, flowing patterns that reference the creeks and low undulating landforms of the surrounding Cumberland Plains. Mounded garden beds echo the area’s rolling hills, while layered planting creates visual depth within the compact footprint. Together, these elements ground the artwork in its ecological narrative and provide a strong sense of place.
Historical references were subtly woven into the landscape language. Recycled brick edging, laid in both single and double soldier courses, acknowledges the area’s European military history. Linear bands of grasses positioned behind the concrete seating elements draw on the site’s agricultural past, creating a quiet dialogue between cultural layers without resorting to overt symbolism.
By day, Gateway Park functions as a welcoming meeting place. Off-form, honed concrete seating elements are arranged to encourage pause and interaction while remaining robust enough for heavy public use.
At night, an integrated lighting strategy transforms the space into a striking visual marker while enhancing safety and visibility along this key transport corridor.
Material selection was guided by durability, longevity and ease of maintenance — critical considerations for a publicly owned asset. In-situ off-form honed concrete was chosen for seating and signage elements for its strength, tactile quality and evolving patina. Pavements combine porphyry crazy paving laid over concrete with mortar joints, complemented by stabilised decomposed granite in overflow areas. Recycled brick edging defines garden beds while reinforcing the project’s sustainability objectives.
Environmental performance was a key consideration throughout the design. The project delivers a net gain in canopy cover, replacing previously cleared and degraded pasture grasses with a diverse palette of low-water-use native species. Planting was arranged to celebrate natural growth forms, reducing the need for intensive maintenance. Earthworks were carefully balanced on site, minimising soil import and export and reducing construction impacts.
ecodesign worked closely with UrbanGrowth NSW’s development and project management teams to deliver the project from concept through to construction.
Our role included preparing documentation for planning approvals, tendering and construction, responding to requests for information and refining details to suit site conditions and operational requirements.
Collaboration extended to the public artist, Matthew Harding, whose sculpture formed the conceptual anchor for the project. Lighting consultants were engaged to support the integration of feature and functional lighting. As a newly released precinct, services coordination presented challenges, with electricity and water connections staged alongside broader infrastructure delivery. Close coordination with contractors ensured these constraints were resolved without compromising design intent.
Gateway Park stands as a contemporary civic threshold — a small but powerful public space that brings together art, landscape and infrastructure to mark arrival, acknowledge history and support community life within a growing urban precinct.
Awards
Two categories at this year’s Asia Pacific International Federation of Landscape Architects Awards.
We received an honourable mention for both “Lighting and Night Experience” & “Art and Sculpture”. We’re honoured to receive this prestigious award for our “Gateway Park” design. This community project is located at the corner of Zouch and Campbelltown Roads in Edmondson Park NSW and marks the gateway to the new Edmondson South Residential Precinct and town centre.
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