Scarborough Beach

Practice Area

Client

Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority

Industry

  1. A skater passes by a light blue facilities identification sign and its long, wavy shadow at the Snake Pit skate park.

  2. A pink pedestrian directional’s chevron-like shadow extends out onto thoroughfare in the harsh daylight sun.

  3. This blue facilities identification sign’s flowing, wavy pattern projects onto the pavement, paying homage to the Scarborough surf.

  4. This yellow pedestrian directional’s jagged pattern stretches onto a walkway nearby one of Scarborough’s main carparks.

  5. This purple pedestrian directional sits atop a stairway fronting the Scarborough foreshore. Its jagged shadow prints upon the walkway.

  6. A vehicular directional sits beside a key roadway. Its sky blue colour is inspired by Scarborough’s own brand palette and the early daylight.

  7. This pink sign doubles as carpark identification and vehicular directional. Sign messaging is accompanied by a panel adorned with a down-arrow-like pattern.

  8. Close-up of a sky blue pedestrian directional (secondary pathways) sign. This site map identifies key locations along the Scarborough foreshore.

Project Vision

The reimagined Scarborough Beach development invigorates a popular gathering space for locals and tourists that hosts an amphitheater, swimming pool, surf club, skate park, children’s playground and transport hub. The redevelopment created the opportunity for a new user-led wayfinding solution, reshaping Scarborough’s traffic flow by encouraging cars to divert away from its traditional access point, Scarborough Beach Road. Pedestrians, rather than vehicles, are prompted to use this thoroughfare and interact with the space.

The new landscape architecture is underpinned by an indigenous theme, Wallu, meaning “meeting and parting.” The design expresses the ideas of a meeting place where people come together temporarily and the water meeting and parting with the land.

The wayfinding design also draws inspiration from its very surroundings and celebrates Scarborough as a surf, swim and leisure hotspot—and, navigation throughout the site is simple and intuitive, which enabled Diadem to explore more playful aesthetics. The signage suite’s color palette was derived from Scarborough’s brand and references the festive nature of the beach and its surrounds; its various patterns, including chevrons, double-chevrons and stripes, references those often seen on beach towels, board shorts, bikinis, umbrellas and beach culture.

The patterns are ultimately are an integral feature of the installations: The strong patterning on the signs tap into the theme of connecting to the land, casting shadows which move and change throughout the day. This determined the positioning of the signs and the optimal shadow-casting during summertime, when both the beach and the sun are at their peak.

Overall, the project maximized Scarborough’s potential to become a recreational and tourism hotspot for Perth and Western Australia. The area has quickly become one of Australia’s most iconic urban beach experiences, transforming a previously disconnected and carpark-dominated beachfront, into a welcoming recreational space for everyone.

Project Details
Design Team

Brett Gosbell (concept design and direction), Mark Janetzki (strategy and design direction), Rosanne Green (design management), Sung Chua (sign location plans and messaging), Chris Oroszvary (construction documentation)

Project Area

248 acres

Consultants

TCL Taylor Cullity Lethlean (lead- urban landscape architecture), MRA Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (governmental body), Arup (structural engineering), UDLA  (landscape architecture)