PLATFORUM
Platforum Playground
Students from Villiers High School in West London actually petitioned for a better school playground. They made it to Ealing Council and successfully managed to acquire some funding to make it happen.
This project was really interesting for us, we got to see what a typical school is presented with when it looks for an off the shelf playground – some pretty unimaginative swings, slides and castles that just aren’t relevant to 16 year olds.
So we spent time working with the staff and students through intense workshops, which explored their dreams, needs and aspirations in terms of communal space at the school. The playground was deemed a phenomenal success by pupils and staff alike by reducing incidents of violence at the school.
1,300 students; 35 nationalities; 1,750 sqm; £15 budget per sqm; 12 days to build; 300 sqm of green paint; 40m of climbing wall; 16 builders; 3 teachers; 1 crane!
Because of the budget constraints and timescale we had to work quickly to develop an affordable solution without compromising the needs of the school.
We custom built a modular precast concrete system which gave the students islands to take over and make their own.
