Family Park Building Linja

Linja Family Park is a natural oasis amid the stone and concrete of the city. The park serves as a community base for families with children and as a venue for school children’s activities.

The park site, narrow and wooded, presented a number of challenges: how to design the building to purpose without encroaching on the park’s valuable trees. The use of a glazed, covered courtyard provided the ideal solution, enabling the building to be extended by incorporating one of the trees within the building itself.

Access is via the covered courtyard. The interior spaces are open plan, bringing a feel of spaciousness and grandness to the building. The building also houses a special area for mother- and-toddler group activities. The park building can also be leased out for local residents’ clubs and events.

Some of the building’s details were inspired by an investigative trip to Japan during the initial planning stage, with the glazed courtyard and indoor garden incorporating influences from Japanese architecture.

The building is constructed from wood supplemented with steel elements and block masonry. The facades are clad with vertical fine-sawn boarding. The exterior surfaces are woodstained, and the interior linings, frames, jambs and furniture are finished with wood wax.

The end result, carefully executed to the last detail, is a testament to the thoroughness and pride of work of the building contractor.