AT HOME
CALVERLEY ADVENTURE GROUNDS
landscape structure that children actually want to explore and be playful , which is really important for a child ’ s development .
I have done a lot of research work with child psychologists to really understand what play means to children and its about not approaching it from an adult ’ s perspective . I start with a brief where I ask ‘ what do I want the child to feel ’ and not ‘ what do I want it to look like ’.
What were the challenges ? It was very straightforward since it was a nice sized site which was sunken into the area . So in a sense it was its own contained space , which was good from a safety perspective to stop little kids wandering out . The real challenge of the project was the funding . We managed to obtain a couple of grants , and those really set the parameters of the timeframe to then complete the rest of the fundraising and deliver the scheme within the funding timetable . That really applied pressure , because we received two key grants and you only have 12 months to deliver the scheme otherwise you lose it .
Image © Jack Hobhouse
It was brilliant to get those initial grants through , the rest had to be raised through local businesses sponsoring . The other really exciting part of the project was that we collaborated with Gordon Young , a very famous public artist who did the Comedy Carpet in Blackpool and other very well known schemes .
As a favour he came on board and designed the Calverley community wall . This was a set of corten panels on one side of the playground , inscribed with the names of the people who donated money towards the scheme . It ranges from people like Timberplay , who donated a number of pieces of play equipment , the local council who gave us money and then lots of local businesses .
Did the local community offer up an ideas for the design ? The honest answer is no . In terms of the original four people of the group who wanted to get this playground built they had a very strong vision from the start . They wanted it to be local and they wanted it to be the talk of the town . They knew they did not want just a selection of play equipment bits stuck into the square .
What was the overall budget ? The group raised £ 225,000 and the total was up to £ 260,000 , because the council added some extra things to the contract . So we did redo the paths around the playground , but that wasn ’ t originally part of the contract .
How long did take to complete the project and when was it completed ? The actual build part of the project took four months on site , and that was by Ground Control landscape contractors . It was opened in September last year , but before that there had been a year and a half of fundraising activities to make the project possible .
What was the overall goal you were trying to achieve ? To design a well balanced scheme that sits sentively within its historic context , that provides a very rich , playful landscape that children of all ages can enjoy .
24 Landscape Insight | April 2018