Surprise Beach Park Update

Architect presents latest concept to Council

Architect Nick Bray's rendering of the new facility, as seen from the beach.

In an unexpected turn of events, Lions Bay Council pressed 'pause' on their special meeting last night to turn the floor over to architect Nick Bray.

Bray, who is responsible for the latest beach park design, opened proceedings with a presentation titled 'Design Workshop'. He spoke for around 50 minutes, answering questions and offering the key concerns and feedback he garnered from both the community in the open house event back in January and the Council session he attended in March.

An overall site plan of the Lions Bay Beach Park project.

Addressing what he called a "difficult subject", Bray recalled that at those meetings, a former project contractor, a sitting Councillor, a former mayor and even one of the architects of the earlier incarnations of the Beach Park spoke out publicly against his new design and suggested that he change it to make it look more like the previous designs.

However, he added: "You're not going to find another architect who is willing to replicate a previous architect's design."

A rendering of the view of the new building from the street entrance to the park.

Bray identified several key concerns that residents had expressed, including the building location being sited on leased land, the orientation of washroom doors, the size and scope of the project and the location of kayak storage.

He also addressed key feedback he received, noting a favourable response to a covered area as an asset for community gatherings, activities and events. He said that he'd been told a performance space would be appreciated, and that Village artwork would help "ground the building in its community". He also noted that residents had told him that resilience to fire and vandalism is important.

Floor plan of the washroom/covered area on the site.

He said that after the March meeting, the agreed direction the project would take included:

• keeping the new building's footprint within the existing washroom footprint

• four individual washrooms, each with an exterior door, two of which to be accessible

• one door to face the playground and the other three to face the beach, to address safety/comfort of all users

• include a small storage space, but no concession area

• provide an outdoor covered space while maintaining views of playing field and beach

• durable, fire-resistant materials to be used

• modern take on West Coast architecture

• kayak storage to be removed from the scope of the project

• provide a construction budget to ensure design is feasible

April design vs January

The renderings Bray displayed last night differed substantially from those on offer back in January, and generally met with a favourable response.

Eurohouse builder Yuri Morgun, who joined the meeting online, spoke briefly about the versatile material available for the supporting wall between the two playground areas. Project manager Jürgen Franke was also present but did not contribute to the presentation.

Mayor Ken Berry noted that the presentation was for information purposes only, and that no decisions were being made by Council. He reiterated that the project remains in the hands of staff before thanking Bray for sharing the update.

No further details were offered as to the timing of the project, though in a brief update back on March 5, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell noted that they were anticipating a potential start to construction in September 2025.

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