Redland City Council (2007)





Redlands Youth Plaza

A world class skate and BMX facility and integrated youth space in Capalaba, located in the City of Redland. It opened to the appreciation of thousands of young people in December 2007.



Outcomes

  • Plan C was involved from the inception in the process and guided a highly collaborative planning and engagement process where young people, skaters, BMX riders and community members were involved in concept development and detailed design of the Plaza.
  • The conceptual development and detailed design process was carried out by Convic Design.
  • Plan C also helped the Redland City Council develop a grant application for the project, which was successful and subsequently became the first time a youth facility of this nature had ever been awarded a major grant.
  • Capex for the project was $1m AUD.
  • Once the construction of the Redland Youth Plaza was underway, Plan C came back to work with the community to form the 'Plaza Advisory Crew'– a group of local young people and community stakeholders who were interested in learning skills to manage and activate the site.
  • The Plaza Advisory Crew worked with Plan C to develop sustainable skills such as governance, event production, marketing, sponsorship and other skills. Collaboratively, this group produced the launch event for the Plaza – the Concrete Carnival.

key success factors

The Plaza is a unique space that is responsive to the local area and equivalent to best practice internationally at the time, a facility that provides excellent challenges to skaters and BMX riders at all levels, and an integrated youth space which has been designed, managed and activated in conjunction with young people and the local community.

Process

A widespread and collaborative community engagement process was facilitated by Plan C to gain the community's ideas, visions and requirements for the Redland Youth Plaza. Within this engagement process was an embedded Enquiry by Design process to enable young people to be 'hands on' in the concept development process.

The consultation process included identification of young people, user groups and stakeholders. Telephone surveys, personal consultations and workshops were conducted with a wide range of people. Specific consultation tools such as digital storytelling, short film and sketch interviews were used to engage with large numbers of stakeholders and communicate ideas across a range of media to inform conceptual development. The needs of young women and non-active users were specifically sought to ensure the design development strove to conceptualise an inclusive space for young people. Consultation was also undertaken with surrounding businesses and clubs to mitigate any perceived impacts and seek buy in and support.

A core group of local young people were involved in each step of the project consultation process and contributed valuable time to ensuring that their voices were heard and their ideas transferred to the final concept design.

By working collaboratively, Plan C, CONVIC and Redland Council helped draw the ideas and needs of key stakeholders directly into the design process. The engagement process used a variety of tools, events and multi-stakeholder and technical workshops at critical stages to ensure that community visions were carried forward. The progression of concept and design development by CONVIC Design adhered to the brief set down by stakeholders, who provided input to concepts as the design progressed.