Wilder Play Rationale

Public places are constantly redefined through multiple demands and daily use. The undercroft of the DLR line parallel to North Woolwich Road hosts pedestrians and cyclists, a mix of memorials, wilderness, services, signs, gateways and Obstacles.

The proposed playable landscape designed by Townshend Landscape architects forms part of a network of new high quality public spaces that will augment the opportunities for play and pleasure provided by Thames Barrier Park. The park is well used by visitors from near and far: on a sunny day several hundred people picnic and play here.

The proposed development of this section of the undercroft of the DLR needs to be negotiated through dialogue. All too often the old adage that children should be seen and not heard is still upheld in public life. However in order for the process of regeneration to be sustainable it must include and acknowledge difference and diversity: adults and young people, the social and the built, the commercial and the cultural, work and play.

Many children now exist in a private cocoon of TV and video games, lacking the physical and emotional engagement with their peers and their environment that is evident in the painting of Children’s’ Games, by Bruegel. This image captures 75 games being played by adults and children alike, in the freedom of a village square. A fence is appropriated for ‘horseriding’, and a patch of grass is taken up with gymnastics.

According to Mark Dudek in the bygone era of the mid C20th ‘childhood was played out in public places generally away from the immediate control of parents. It was more social and perhaps more risky, with intensive interaction engaging other children on an informal basis – very much child-directed play. Today being on the streets usually labels young children as uncared for. Constant supervision to ensure total safety from a plethora of dangers, real or imagined, makes the modern child somewhat confined, lacking the freedoms enjoyed by previous generations.’

When playful behaviour is perceived as misbehaviour and nuisance, children can be marginalized from their environment. Making space for them with them, valuing their behaviours, judgements and perceptions and recognising their capacity to shape their environment includes them as part of the larger whole of the community. Both children and public space benefit.

Wilder Play - Historical Context

Many successful initiatives have changed things for the better and the area is presently set to make the most of the vibrant university life, efficient transport links and cutting edge cultural activities that are taking place all within a context of activating sustainability.

Image of Victoria Docks from Design for London

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Design Testing Day

On Sunday 20th March we explored elements of the proposed new play landscape at a space nearby, and closely resembling, the site with 7 young local residents. Specifically, what does it mean to make demountable features?


We used tape and a template to apply a geometric motif and pattern, creating spaces to play hopscotch and long jump. We tested the idea of optical illusions, using tape to 'draw' a very long ladder across horizontal and vertical planes. How high could we climb?



We 'drew' a door and windows and imagined what happens inside the solid concrete column supporting the DLR line ... is there a different world inside?

We used simple trick photography to 'test' the model artfeature/bench/ramp models made on the previous day.


Children tested their sense of risk and responsibility, using some crates found nearby to build different towers, steps and low ramps for balancing, and map patterns with shadow and light.


We explained that the landscape architects intend to incorporate signage in the fences around the proposed Multi use games area. Using plastic cups children made temporary signage in the perimeter fence. The young people's ambition to spell out – Supercalifragalisticespealidocious was thwarted by lack of resources and lack of confidence in spelling! However it was a super day!

BelieVe in Better

We were very pleased to be part of the brilliant BelieVe in Better event at Britannia Village Hall on Saturday 19th March. As Dave, the Hall manager said "It was a great example of the statutory authorities working together with the voluntary sector and local people and businesses to celebrate the best about the community". Lots of fun, shared by all.

We invited people to take part in several activities to explore and inform the designs of the proposed new play landscape:

Making drawings of "geometricky" paths

Making models of artfeature/bench/ramp

Rearranging our 'yellow collection' to display their preferences.

The ideas gathered were then tested at 1:1, and with the use of trick photography under the DLR line near West Silvertown Station on Sunday 20th March.

Building ramps and patterns in Thames Barrier Park

Two children from Britannia Village assisted us in the session for local residents. We set up ramp building equipment and materials for making drawings to influence the supergraphic designs of the new playable landscape. We spent time interviewing users of the cafe in Thames Barrier Park and some families engaged with us to build and draw.
A woman and her two sons made a variety of ramps and tested them for speed, they said they live locally and would be likely to use the new playable landscape.




Walking in Barrier Park East with the two children, they revealed the place in their terms, what they most wanted to do was explore the dense shrubbery. This was carried out and resulted in a little mild fear, getting dirty and being out of the view of the other park users. Afterwards the children said we’d ‘had an adventure.’



The children began to take ownership of the design and the future play space during this session by explaining the plans to strangers, measuring a variety of structures to get a sense of how the 20cm ramps will be, measuring, gradients, steps and the columns under the DLR.

Some interesting things we found in Thames Barrier Park

Some elements in and near Thames Barrier Park have undergone adhoc repairs, adjustments and synthesise.

For example the netting in the single goal post is replaced by a barrier which has a rubbish bag tied to it, and lightweight signage for the pavilion café is held in place by a broken chair. While a sign nearby indicates that a galvanized steel fencing has no scrap value, these
creative solutions, are precious and inspiring.

Other elements such as the defunct, much loved water features and out of date
updates, indicate that costly, complex or continual maintence should be avoided.

Things that go bump in the night

On the evening of Thursday 10th March at Britannia Village Hall, responding to the proposal for mounds (max 200mm high under DLR) in the new play landscape, 10 young people produced 200mm high bumps, mounds and ramps. Lottie's baby bump isn't quite 200mm yet!

Testing out different gradients and surfaces we raced wind up toys, rolls of tape and tennis balls down the ramps to see which went furthest and fastest!

We caught air in bags to make balloons and tried to keep them up as high as possible without using our hands

Riding Modern Art

On Monday 28th February Ashley went to hear artist Raphael Zarka in conversation with Iain Borden, Professor of Architecture and Urban culture at UCL. Raphael's film montage Riding Modern Art is an exploration of skateboarders' interplay with found spaces and structures. The film shows how the geometry of public sculpture can shape the skateboarders' movement. 


Could the art features proposed for East Barrier Park accommodate this sort of interaction?

Something can be more than one thing

On Tuesday 22nd February, I shared pizza and stories about play and joy on the streets, with 10 young people and staff at Brittania Village Hall. We looked at proposals for the new playable landscape and the young people raised a few interesting questions, including:

Isn’t it too near the road? What use is a 200 mm mound? What is an art feature?

Some people were unsure about what you might do in a Multi Use Games Area, and others explained that multiple means various, so you can make up your own rules, play in teams or on your own.

Following through this idea we looked at the idea of free play, ambiguity and optical illusions where something can be more than one thing … including a duck/rabbit illusion, anamorphic drawings in 3 dimensions and artworks by Banksy.

To test the idea that ‘something can be more than one thing’ and encourage playful actions we took 5 rolls of sticky tape outdoors to the roadside. The young people made a temporary ambiguous drawing that changed shape and use, becoming a pathway, a volleyball net, a limbo dance space and a human catapult, until the materials ran out. The empty spools were adapted as wheels to roll across the pavement and discs to throw across the road. Someone was trussed up (voluntarily!) and the drawing was revised several times before being recycled as 3 balls.

The young peoples’ ideas will be adapted, scaled up and tested under the DLR line near West Silvertown station on Sunday 20^th March.

Some kind of game found at London City Airport …

Some kind of game found at London City Airport on Tuesday 13th February