Reconsidering Material Practice: The Oval at Subi East
Image by Yvonne Doherty
Reconsidering Material Practice - the May 2025 edition of Landscape Architecture Australia - explores how landscape architects are responding to the climate emergency through the strategies of reducing, reusing and recycling.
The issue includes a review of Subi East’s The Oval.
Within the article, Simon Kilbane highlights how more than 50,000 tonnes of material from the site were reused in the creation of a new park.
“At The Oval at Subi East, multiple narratives meet and are further revealed in the detailed design of spaces, where elements deconstructed from the old stadium site have been skilfully salvaged and repurposed in novel ways. Four monumental steel beams salvaged from the original stadium roof structure have been reused as shade sail poles and unique skate elements, and sit alongside decking, benches, plinths and play equipment crafted from almost 30,000 linear metres of recycled original wooden grandstand. Across the site, over 5,000 salvaged concrete blocks and around 130 square metres of red brick pavers have been repurposed in the construction of rammed earth retaining walls and structural components, or crushed for use as substrate. In total, over 50,000 tonnes of materials have been recycled, restored or reimagined.”
