Karres en Brands, together with Aecom and Conversation Caravan, was asked to compete in a challenging international design competition for the redevelopment of a new 128ha cemetery park on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. The growth of the city, both in numbers and diversity, calls for a new, more diverse, and layered approach to the memorial park. Our vision for Harkness Memorial Park imagines the Australian public cemetery as a socially activated natural park cemetery.

One of our key strategies was to regenerate Arnolds’ Creek, not only as a crucial part of the sustainable water system of the neighborhood, but also to provide an inviting and much needed public green space for the people living around the cemetery. 

To accommodate different groups into the park we designed ring parks throughout the cemetery. They can be used both by visitors of the cemetery as peaceful stops to remember loved ones, but also attract life into the burial grounds, for example by introducing (land) art or public functions. By doing so the design breaks up the massive scale of the cemetery, creating a more intimate and personal spaces and more comfortable climate conditions in this barren and rough Australian landscape. Want to know more about our proposal? Visit the project page below.

Congratulations to team Aurecon Architectus, Mcgregor Coxall and Greenshoot Consulting
i.c.w. Aecom and Conversation Caravan