WE MADE THAT

”WILD KINGDOM”

THREE MILLS GREEN PLAY-SPACE

http://www.wemadethat.co.uk/

PROJECT TEAM

Architect: We Made That

Clients: The Legacy List, London Legacy Development Corporation, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Play consultants: Free Play and Children’s Play Advisory Service

Cost consultant: Stockdale

Play safety: Children’s Play Advisory Service

Construction manager/quantity surveyor: Stockdale

Contractor: The landscape Group with selected joinery by Building Crafts College

Graphic design: Europa

SUPPLIERS

Community commissioning Supplier: Building Crafts College

precast concrete: Concrete Bloc

DATA

Begun: Jul 2012
 Completed: Sep 2012
 Floor area: 4,900m²
 Sectors: Landscape design, Public realm
 Total cost: £123,000
 Funding: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, The Legacy List, London Legacy Development Corporation
 Tender date: May 2012
 Procurement: JCT Intermediate Contract with Contractor Design
 Address: Three Mills Green, Newham, London, E3 3DU, United Kingdom
 Awards: NLA New London Award for Public Space, 2012 (LLDC Olympic Fringe projects)

THE BRIEF

We Made That with Free Play have been chosen as the winner of the Three Mills Green Play-space competition,which sought proposals for designs for a new play-space located near the Olympic Park in the borough of Newham, East London. During the competition period the design teams were asked to respond to a detailed brief (1) that calls for innovative and imaginative designs that look to stimulate creative ways of playing. Proposals were detailed to RIBA Stage C and submitted by 19 September 2011. The winning team was selected primarily on the basis of the strength of the concept and the deliverability and achievability of the proposal. The scheme combines a variety of structures, spaces and activities that bring together a sense of unexpected adventure, imaginative seasonal change and a thoughtful response to the newly created landscape at Three Mills Green. We Made That & Free Play will now be asked to develop their proposal to RIBA Stage D, with a view to commencing construction in the spring of 2012.

THE SITE

Three Mills Green is situated immediately south of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park close to Bromley-by-Bow, Stratford High Street and West Ham. It has recently been renovated by the Park Authority and Design for London as one of the Mayor’s Great Outdoors programme. It is an invaluable part of the 26-mile long Lee Valley Regional Park, and forms one of six proposed parks along ‘The Fatwalk’, a planned walking and cycling route from the Olympic Park to the Thames.

The natural play area has been constructed by The Landscape Group and took two months to complete. It is part of a wider programme of improvements at Three Mills Green in Bow, east London which has included £1m Mayoral funding from the Olympic Fringe programme and a further £50,000 towards landscaping from Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.
The design team have also worked with the Building Crafts College in Stratford, Community Links in Newham and the Play Association of Tower Hamlets to deliver both the play area and the community engagement activities.

THE PROJECT

Wild Kingdom is a unique and distinctive new play area where children can really let their imagination roam. Wild Kingdom has been designed to allow children of all ages to create their own playground from the natural surroundings. Carefully placed fallen trees, nets and ropes provide climbing frames and swings, whilst giant tree stumps, branches and hammocks provide the tools to build dens. Wild Kingdom also has more traditional play equipment including a maypole swing and trampoline but all have a natural twist.

New planting is going in at the Three Mills as part of the playspace proposal. it includes seasonal blossom, distinctive seed heads and trees that will be bent to create shade aswell as more wildflowers and bulb planting.

The playspace opened summer 2012. A number of free on site workshops were run before and during its construction, these are now continuing following completion of the construction.