So predictable and formulaic is the contemporary playground – certainly in Europe and the US – that we have forgotten there may be alternative arrangements. The standard-issue assortment of swings, seesaws, slides and sandpits – multi-stakeholder-sanctioned, mostly siloed behind gates and fences – is an urban constant. Strange that spaces charged with firing the imagination should be so unimaginative.
There are other ways of doing things, of course – radical new playscapes or smart reworkings of the established order. Muf Architecture/Art has just completed a redesign of an under-fives’ playground at the Golden Lane Estate in London’s Clerkenwell. Golden Lane is what the architecture practice Chamberlin, Powell & Bon did before it got around to the neighbouring Barbican Estate. It is, then, a protected treasure and the playground commission, the reactivation of a neglected sunken pit with broken equipment, left limited room for manoeuvre. Muf, though, has made the most of the physical and creative space available.
There is a slide and a beautifully proportioned climbing frame. But also a ring of natural stone and reclaimed timber. It’s neo-Neolithic, accenting rather than apologising for the unapologetic brutalism of the original space. What the new design also offers is positive ambiguity, a space that children can imagine and reimagine as outer space or magic kingdom. It offers challenge, physicality, hard surfaces and sharp edges (though Muf ’s Liza Fior explains that those sharp edges are actually carefully calculated radii, worked out with playground design consultant Rob Wheway). It is, radii and all, a space to experiment with and negotiate risk, a fundamental requirement of meaningful play and development.
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Kind of Magic
Demna's breathtaking couture collection takes centre stage at Balenciaga's newly renovated couture salons in Paris
Building Site
Sun Tower, China, by Open Architecture
Circular Approach
Repurpose clothing initiative, by Oliver Spencer
CITY
Seoul's unique mix of culture, art and style goes global, thanks to an unstoppable new wave of dynamic creatives
RESTORATION KINGS
Laplace for Hauser & Wirth Paris
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS
'Box' furniture, by Max Lamb, for Gallery Fumi
URBAN BOLTHOLE
Pacaembu House, Brazil, by Arthur Casas
SURREALIST DREAMS
Weird and wonderful works to wake up to
CROWNING GLORY
15-step scalp treatment, by Eco Jardin by Park Jun
WEARABLE ART
Jewellery collection, by Lynda Benglis, for Loewe