{"id":131645,"date":"2019-04-01T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/uncategorised\/what-should-architects-learn-from-the-rich-poor-playground-segregation"},"modified":"2020-08-06T17:00:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T16:00:01","slug":"what-should-architects-learn-from-the-rich-poor-playground-segregation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/what-should-architects-learn-from-the-rich-poor-playground-segregation","title":{"rendered":"What should architects learn from the rich\u2013poor playground segregation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my most enduring memories from this week will be standing in the afternoon sunshine in the rather sad \u2018play\u2019 area outside the Lilian Baylis development\u2019s\u00a0social housing block, watching the children from both sides of the estate enjoying themselves together, the mums hugging and laughing at what they had just achieved.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the long journey, which for me had started when Louise Whitley, one of the residents, got in touch six months ago, felt worth it. Louise had got in touch online, looking me up as a child-friendly cities expert<\/a>, someone who might understand the issues and help her work out the right message about play on the estate.\u00a0At that point she was desperate for some help.<\/p>\n

Her children were being prevented from enjoying the spaces that the estate had to offer; they were expected to traipse together to the far side of the development to \u2018play\u2019 on another mean stretch of space provided for them.<\/p>\n

They had been told by the management company not to play in the fountains and the splash pool on the way, as it was \u2018unsafe\u2019. When they complained they were reminded that there was a park and an adventure playground across the road and why could they not go there?<\/p>\n

For Louise it was obvious, she had bought her flat on the third floor because the literature showed happy children in the spaces around the estate (visualisation below<\/em>). When I first visited she took us downstairs in the lift and out through a lobby into the spaces and walked us around. I already knew what was wrong.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"Baylis<\/p>\n

Baylis old school 2013 visual of happy kids<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We architects are told to design for children\u2019s play as if it is an activity they might like to do from time to time, when in fact its what they are motivated to do all day long. We generally make sure the relevant space is there and then cross our fingers it doesn\u2019t get \u2018value-engineered\u2019 out.<\/p>\n

In this instance it looks like the reason for the rich-poor segregation might be found in the post-planning stage. But, if we are going to learn from this story, we should consider the role of architects in the process.<\/p>\n

Many architects and their clients want to design and deliver inclusive spaces. But in my experience they are lacking in the confidence and skills to do that from the outset.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, through research that has involved listening to children, observing what they do in their local neighbourhood and also working with people who understand their needs, we have started to better understand what the issues are. This has led us to change the way we practise and to make recommendations that others can follow.<\/p>\n

\n

Start by thinking about children and young people as clients<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Start by thinking about children and young people as clients. They use space differently to adults and we need to understand how before we begin.<\/p>\n

Play happens everywhere, it\u2019s a continuum and it involves other children. Sight lines are critical, from dwellings and also throughout circulation. Children need to have the freedom to be able to get about and they will continue to do this, exploring to a greater and greater range.<\/p>\n

They will continue to want to play and hang out close to home too, which is particularly important when thinking about teenagers, who don\u2019t want to be consigned to a single space, either.<\/p>\n

Avoid participation that asks \u2018what do you want\u2019, but view children as experts of their own lives and experiences. We as architects are the designers and we need to build on their positive interactions with their built environment.<\/p>\n

We are a long way from achieving real child-friendly cities, but interest is growing fast. Its an exciting opportunity and could transform the design process, truly placing people at the heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my most enduring memories from this week will be standing in the afternoon sunshine in the rather sad \u2018play\u2019 area outside the Lilian Baylis development\u2019s\u00a0social housing block, watching the children from both sides of the estate enjoying themselves together, the mums hugging and laughing at what they had just achieved. Suddenly the long …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81135,"featured_media":446903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[5480,1155,5481],"yoast_head":"\nWhat should architects learn from the rich\u2013poor playground segregation?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The controversy over the Lilian Baylis scheme in Lambeth, with its separate playgrounds for rich and poorer children, arose from a failure to put people at the heart of design, writes Dinah Bornat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/what-should-architects-learn-from-the-rich-poor-playground-segregation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta 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