Fish Lane Town Square
RPS' landscape architects helped transform a concrete underpass into an unexpected, subtropical rainforest in Brisbane.
Transforming a concrete underpass
Our landscape architects have designed a landscape scheme that would transition the existing 2400sqm concrete underpass zone into an unexpected, subtropical rainforest that invites visitors in, celebrates Brisbane’s warm climate and is open to the public 24/7.
Working with Richards and Spence Architects and Aria Property Group, our team’s challenge was to create a connection to nature and sense of place in a derelict space, originally designed for purely functional purposes.
Reimagining a “space between”
Fish Lane Town Square is now home to more than 3,500 plants that reflect the pre–European landscape found in the local Kurilpa area. These include native birds nest ferns, Australian fan palms, native violet, blue ginger, bugleweed and more than 70 Australian tree ferns standing up to 4.5m tall.
As the RPS-designed landscape was being developed, our team worked closely with project partners Shape, Bland 2 Brilliant and Greenstock Nursery to carefully source and position the plants which now give life and atmosphere to the environment. Each planting area is connected to a rainwater tank irrigation system, along with a specially designed mister system attached to each tree fern.
With Fish Lane Town Square now a quirky, bustling inner city destination, our team is proud to have supported the reimagining of this once forgotten and unseen “space between” into a public space that’s well used and much-loved by locals and visitors alike.
Design awards for Fish Lane
- Movement and Place Award, Queensland Government Urban Design Awards 2022
- Commendation - Minister's Award for Urban Design, Queensland Government Urban Design Awards 2022
- Urban Renewal Award, Urban Development Institute of Australia 2021 Queensland Awards
- Retail and Commercial Award, Urban Development Institute of Australia 2021 Queensland Awards
- Award of Excellence for Civic Landscape, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects National 2021 Awards
- Built Urban Design Award, World Landscape Architecture Awards 2021
- Award of Excellence for Civic Landscape, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Queensland 2021 Awards
- Award for Excellence, Urban Land Institute Asia Pacific 2019 Awards
- Urban Design Award, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects National Awards 2018
- Urban Design Award, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Queensland Awards 2018
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Key contacts
Vicki Barclay
Senior Principal Landscape Architect