Designer, activist, academic,
and author of Lo—TEK,
Design by Radical Indigenism.
A leading expert of Lo—TEK nature-based technologies for climate-resilience.
Her eponymously named studio brings creative and conceptual, interdisciplinary thinking to urban projects and corporate clients interested in systemic and sustainable change. Julia regularly teaches urban design at Harvard and Columbia University.
The Parkland at Roma Street in Brisbane, Australia
Date: 1999 - 2002
Location: Brisbane CBD, AUS
Project Team: Julia Watson for PARC (DEM Architects, Gillespies Australia, Landplan Studio, Civitas) + SKM + Brecknock Consulting + Webb Australia
Client: Queensland Department of Public Works
An oasis in the heart of Brisbane’s Central Business District, Roma Street Parkland covers 16 hectares making it one of the world’s largest tropical gardens situated in a city centre.
Located in Brisbane’s Central Business District, Roma Street Parklands provides sixteen hectares of attractive parkland that feature a variety of themed gardens and recreational areas, interlinked by a network of pathways and boardwalks that traverse cascading waterways and rocky outcrops. The design aimed to create a park that would display various native subtropical plants, many from forgotten ecosystems in Queensland, to invite wonder and interest and challenge the notion that Australian plants
were dull and unsuited to urban environments.
The Parklands host a Spectacle Garden, lawns and terraces enclosed by the Serenity Garden, and the rejuvenated Albert Park. A water feature flows through the Spectacle Garden, representing the spring from which the nearby Spring Hill took its name, linking the Upper and Lower Parklands. Sculptures and artworks further add to the Parkland's visual stimulus and link the past heritage of the Parkland with its current natural and urban surroundings.
Brisbane City Council commissioned PARC to transform Roma Street Parklands into a signature park for Brisbane City. Julia worked for PARC, from the formation of the collaborative, overseeing office management, and was involved as a junior designer in all phases of the project from concept design to construction administration.
A decade after completion, this parkland is still making a significant contribution to the urban character, connectivity, and recreational life in Brisbane. The project won the RAIA (QLD) Excellence in Urban Design 2006, AILA (QLD) Merit award Open Space 2002, CCAA Street Smart Award, 200, UDIA (QLD) Urban Renewal 2001, PQ Engineering Excellence (High Commendation) Buildings & Structures, 2001.
