Kanana Park

Large Scale Urban/Community Park

Kanana Park is located in Rabie Ridge Ext. 5 and is conveniently placed next to the members of the community that will receive the most benefit from its upgrade, a school. With this in mind, the design team of Outer Space Landscape Architects wanted to create a healthy, green recreational space for the school children. 

The park’s name is a biblical reference to the Promised Land of Canaan, however, before its development, the setting was not worthy of its name. The vandalised makeshift soccer field was studded with large rocks and did not make for a great play area for kids. 

While the younger members of the community were prioritised in the design, Outer Space Landscape Architects needed to take vandalism and theft into account. Elements of the park needed to be low-cost, green and robust so as to ensure its longevity as a community site that never loses its sense of playful delight. 

This was achieved by making hard structures fun using shape and colour, low-maintenance indigenous planting, solar lighting and ingeniously pioneering a grass reinforcement that covered the kikuyu lawn with a slip-resistant mesh protector made from partly recycled UV-stabilised polyethene, to avoid grass wearing flat in high traffic zones.

An existing footpath was kept in the design and was used as the park’s central spine for this multi-use space. Various activities to suit all ages branched off from this walkway including a climbing wall for the younger community members, colourful zig-zag stone seating and a large chess board for the more mature audiences. 

In an effort to foster a sense of community ownership of Kanana Park, an art project was held where learners from the neighbouring school were invited to paint the walls. Unfortunately, it was decided that the colourful walls needed to be swapped for brown paint just for cost-effective maintenance in the future.  

Following the completion of the Kanana Park, Outer Space Landscape Architects are confident that the facility is now worthy of its name. 

Client: Johannesburg City Parks
Budget:  
Architects: Outer Space Landscape Architects