Ballam Park Lake

Pollen in collaboration with Frankston City Council revisited the idea of bringing water to the surface as an interpretive and holistic approach to sustainable water management at Ballam Park.

The project implements Council’s Integrated Water Management Plan recommendations, proposing a bioretention system that draws upon subsurface stormwater and expresses it within the landscape as part of integrated water management onsite, alongside a new lake. The celebration and weaving of water within the landscape experience highlights the important function of water at Ballam Park; a detention basin, and the water from the surrounding area that is collected in underground pipes that exit to the Bay.

The open space design within and around the lake offers landscape connectivity, planting for the future and people-focused amenities. The existing avenue of trees is acknowledged and expands around the lake, with weathering steel channels, blade walls and sculptural elements acting as playful, visual delights dotted throughout as moments of discovery.

As a key grounding focal point, the lake is central to the meandering pathways, with a viewing platform and jetty to bring people over and close to the water. The project offers a connected, community-focused experience that sits within and is a growing part of the ever-evolving Ballam Park and the community that calls it home.