Melbourne, 09 October 2026 – Award-winning landscape architecture firm, Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) and leading Australian visual artist, Emily Floyd are appointed to realise the new Queens Park West Playground in Moonee Valley, Melbourne’s inner north-west neighbourhood. Set to open in late 2027, the collaboration brings together parrots, play and a love of nature in an imaginative new playground, designed for local families and as a new cultural destination for the city.
Queens Park West Playground, 2026. Concept design by TCL and Emily Floyd.
Commissioned by MVCC. Courtesy TCL, Floyd and MVCC.
Queens Park West Playground, 2026. Concept design by TCL and Emily Floyd.
Commissioned by MVCC. Courtesy TCL, Floyd and MVCC.
Queens Park West Playground is a major infrastructure project and the most ambitious permanent public artwork realised by The Playground Project Melbourne (TPPM), a blockbuster exhibition commissioned by Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC) and presented at Incinerator Gallery in 2025 with significant local and international partners.
Following a public design competition in late 2025, TCL and Floyd’s winning concept, Parrot Play*, stood out for its creative response to the unique character of Queens Park, taking inspiration from the colourful parrots that call the park home and exploring themes of ecology, family and kinship through artful play.
“Parrots are an important indicator of biodiversity, connected to the plants, animals, microorganisms and ecosystems that make up the natural environment around them. This concept brings these connections to life through sculptural parrots, nested play experiences and a lush garden setting.”
– Emily Floyd, Artist
Queens Park West Playground is designed with inclusion at its heart. Community consultation in May-June 2025 established the needs and desires of local families and park users, and formed part of the design brief. The final design is deeply connected to its setting; welcoming children and families to explore, move, create and play together. It caters to a broad range of physical, cognitive, social, communication and sensory needs, creating opportunities for children with different abilities to play alongside each other in equitable, engaging and flexible ways.
Strategically, the design also responds to existing pathways and arrival points, and anticipates new connections with the upcoming cafe and green spaces. The overall redevelopment creates a new play destination and strengthens Queen Park’s role as a site to connect with nature, community and each other.
Queens Park West Playground (actual space of the commission), 2025. Courtesy MVCC.
The competition was facilitated by CityLab, a leading design consultancy and the winning proposal was selected by an industry-led jury, comprising:
- Georgia Chisholm, Landscape Architecture Advisor, Office of the Victorian Government Architect
- Jocelyn Chiew, Urban Design Consultant
- Mel Dodd, Dean of Monash Art, Design and Architecture
- Jade Niklai, Former Head of Visual and Public Art, MVCC
Queens Park, MVCC. Courtesy MVCC.
Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) is one of Australia’s leading landscape architecture and urban design practices, with over 35 years of experience creating distinctive, enduring places that are environmentally, culturally and socially responsive. TCL provides landscape architecture and urban design services across the full project lifecycle, with a detailed exploration of context, Country, site and community; combining design, research and collaboration to create vibrant, transformative environments that connect people to place.
Emily Floyd is an Australian artist whose practice spans public art, sculpture and printmaking. With a family background in traditional toy making, Floyd grew up learning the craft and machinery skills associated with making wooden toys, influences that continue to feature in her sculptural work. Her works, addressing the topic of art and play can be found in public spaces in Australia and abroad. Floyd participated in The Playground Project Melbourne with a temporary instructional artwork (realised with Mary Featherston AM), a selection of existing silkscreen prints on the topic of play and pedagogy, a new work inspired by MVCC; and participated in the associated public programme, curated by Incinerator Gallery and Monash Art Architecture Design (MADA). Following an extensive practice in public art and playable sculptures, Queens Park West Playground is Floyd’s first playground design. She is represented in Melbourne by Anna Schwartz Projects and Ames Yavuz Gallery.
The Playground Project Melbourne (2015-) is a major travelling exhibition exploring the history of playground design, curated by Gabriela Burkhalter for Kunsthalle Zürich, and presented for the first time in the southern hemisphere in 2025 by MVCC’s Incinerator Gallery. For the tenth rendition of the exhibition, new research was undertaken about the history of Australian and South East Asian playgrounds, and explored through an expansive public programme, curated with Monash University’s Art, Design and Architecture department (MADA). Presented with major project partners, the exhibition welcomed young audiences with three temporary playable structures, and a comprehensive education programme for visiting students (K-Year 12) and families. Queens Park West Playground is TPPM’s final chapter and the most ambitious of three permanent public artworks realised by the project and contributing to MVCC’s local community and welcoming visitors. Find out more here.
