Erina Fair

The Brief

Erina Fair Shopping Centre required a cohesive indoor planting approach to complement the extensive external landscape works delivered by Descas Landscapes. As one of the region’s largest and most active retail destinations, the centre needed greenery that would enhance customer movement, soften hard retail architecture, and create a consistent sense of welcome across multiple precincts.

The brief was to deliver indoor planting that integrated seamlessly with seating, joinery, and public areas throughout the centre while remaining practical for long-term commercial maintenance. This included addressing areas that were difficult to access for servicing through the introduction of artificial planting, as well as supporting seasonal visual programs such as the annual poinsettia installations. The objective was a unified indoor landscape that worked in partnership with the external environment, strengthening customer comfort and experience across the entire centre.

Design and Installation

Our Solution.

Working in collaboration with Descas Landscapes, our solution focused on delivering a cohesive indoor planting layer that complemented the centre’s external landscape works. Planting was distributed throughout the centre to create continuity, support wayfinding, and reinforce moments of pause within the retail environment.

The installation combined extensive live planting with strategically placed artificial greenery in areas that were difficult to access for ongoing servicing. Additional planter installations were introduced across key precincts, including the Hive, Coles Mall area, and major entrances, expanding the indoor landscape over time. Seasonal poinsettia displays were also incorporated into high-profile zones, ensuring the planting continues to evolve with the centre’s annual visual programs. Together, these elements create a layered and resilient indoor planting approach suited to a large-scale retail environment.

Above and Beyond.

Delivering indoor planting at the scale of Erina Fair required close coordination with Descas Landscapes to ensure seamless integration between indoor and outdoor landscape elements. Planting was installed across multiple environments throughout the centre, all while maintaining uninterrupted centre operations. Staging, access planning, and servicing routes were carefully considered to support both installation and long-term maintenance within a busy retail setting.

Beyond installation, Green Design adapted client and joinery planters for commercial indoor use, incorporating sub-irrigation and internal set-ups to support plant health and servicing efficiency. Artificial planting was introduced in inaccessible locations to maintain visual continuity without compromising maintenance practicality. This combination of technical preparation, collaboration, and flexible planting solutions ensured the indoor landscape could perform reliably across the centre’s diverse environments.

Thinking outside the box.

Creativity in this project came from viewing indoor planting as a continuous landscape layer rather than a collection of individual installations. The intent was to create a consistent green presence that guides movement, softens the retail environment, and reinforces moments of comfort and pause throughout the customer journey. This required careful consideration of scale, density, and visual rhythm so the planting felt intentional and cohesive across the centre.

A flexible planting strategy also allowed the indoor landscape to remain visually consistent despite varied servicing conditions. Live planting was prioritised wherever long-term care was viable, while artificial greenery was introduced in elevated or inaccessible positions to maintain the same visual continuity. Seasonal poinsettia displays further extended this adaptability, allowing the planting to evolve with the calendar while preserving the centre’s underlying green identity year-round.

Customisation

The indoor planting at Erina Fair was customised to respond to differing spatial character, light conditions, and patterns of customer use across the centre. Plant forms and densities were selected to complement surrounding materials and architectural scale, ensuring greenery enhanced the environment without overwhelming it. This approach allowed each precinct to feel individually considered while still contributing to a unified overall landscape.

The project also required adapting client-owned and joinery planters for long-term commercial performance. Internal liners, sub-irrigation, and planting configurations were incorporated to support plant health and servicing efficiency while preserving the intended aesthetic. This ensured both live and artificial planting elements could function cohesively, maintaining visual consistency across the centre over time.

Maintenance

Maintaining indoor planting in a large, high-traffic retail environment such as Erina Fair requires a structured and flexible servicing approach. Green Design provides ongoing maintenance to ensure all live planting remains healthy, well-presented, and consistent with the centre’s visual standards. Servicing is carefully scheduled to align with centre operations, with access planning and equipment use designed to minimise disruption to retailers and customers.

The maintenance program also supports the hybrid planting strategy developed for the centre. Live plants are monitored and maintained according to environmental conditions and performance requirements, while artificial installations preserve visual continuity in areas where ongoing servicing is impractical. Seasonal poinsettia rotations form part of the annual maintenance cycle, allowing the indoor landscape to refresh visually during the festive period while maintaining its established structure throughout the year.

Keeping Everyone Safe

Safety at Erina Fair is shaped by the realities of a large, continuously operating shopping centre with high daily foot traffic. All planting installations and maintenance activities are planned around public movement patterns, trading hours, and access constraints to ensure clear pathways and unobstructed circulation at all times. Planter stability, positioning, and scale are carefully managed, so greenery enhances the environment without creating hazards in busy public areas.

Servicing procedures are designed specifically for retail conditions, with controlled access routes, appropriate equipment, and staged maintenance to suit the centre’s layout and operating schedule. Collaboration with centre management and Descas Landscapes ensures works are coordinated efficiently and safely. This approach allows the indoor planting to remain visually consistent and welcoming while maintaining a safe environment for customers, retailers, and service teams.