A London adventure playground received a commendation in the Making Space international architecture competition and also picked up the Children's Making Space Award.
Held every five years, the competition aims to celebrate architecture and design for children and young people (0-18) and this year attracted submissions from 16 countries, including Finland, Spain and Japan.The overall winner was Norwegian architects TYIN Tegnestue for a community library and residential buildings for orphanages in Thailand (www.tyintegnestue.no).
Erect Architecture was commended for its Kilburn Grange Park Adventure Playground, commissioned by the London Borough of Camden and largely funded under the Government's Play Pathfinder scheme.
Kilburn also won the Children's Making Space Award, which forms part of the awards, and is judged by a panel of Scotland's Children's Parliament. The playground was chosen from the 75 entries because, said the panel, it was 'fun'; it connects users to nature; it connects play and learning; sustainability is an important aspect of the scheme; and it is a project which allows the users to make it their own.
The playground is on the site of a Victorian arboretum with a wealth of mature trees, which provide the theme of the development. The play centre has a timber frame, an undulating 'green' roof, timber cladding internally and externally and indoor columns of tree trunks, all designed to blend with the surrounding landscape. Natural and artificial light filter through between beams to create the effect of a tree canopy.
'The project was about playing in and under trees,' explains architect Susanne Tutsch. 'The character of the different trees influenced the design: There are light and open, small and cosy, fast and slow spaces of different timber materialities.'
The architects were also keen that the playground evolve with the community and as a space that children 'own' and are empowered to shape and develop. To this end, they ran a series of workshops to equip the children with the knowledge and skills to use and develop their playground both during and after construction. Themes included 'nature as adventure' - children playing with natural materials - and 'design as adventure', which explored structural principles through large-scale models. The children helped build some of the play structures and are now planning some self-build elements of the building.
Ms Tutsch adds, 'The playground and play centre set out to connect the children to nature, provide the chance to explore and allow the children to challenge themselves. Most importantly, however, the project is designed to change over time - through use, weather and the children making physical changes.'
MAKING SPACE 2010 AWARDS: OTHER UK COMMENDATIONS
Hyndland After School Club, Glasgow. Abbozzo remodelled a former drill hall and dining room at Hyndland Primary School to create a light and airy recreational space. www.abbozzo.co.uk
Joseph Rowntree School, York. Designed by Bond Bryan Architects, this secondary school features six pavilions built around a full-height internal 'street'.
www.bondbryan.com
Open Youth Trust Centre, Norwich. Hudson Architects transformed a redundant banking hall into a 24-hour support centre for young people. www.hudsonarchitects.co.uk
MORE INFORMATION
- Making Space is organised by Children in Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government and OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments. www.childreninscotland.org.uk/html/makingspace.htm
- Kilburn Grange Park Adventure Playground, www.erectarchitecture.co.uk.
