Brief : Hampton Hill Junior School Community Centre,

Hampton Hill, Middlesex.

There is a proposal to extend the existing Community Centre specifically to accommodate parents and
under 5’s. The existing ‘garden’ area needs to be furnished to support this new resource. The communi-
ty centre was once the Care takers house for Hampton Hill Junior school, so the proximity of the school
is an important issue – Children from the school may use the space.

Concept: The Enchanted Forest

The concept for this project the enchanted forest. I would like to create a small scale ‘magical’ wood-
land. The children will be able to use the space for unstructured play and also have areas where there
is more structured play organised throughout the forest.

One of the main influences for my designs was from fairytales. Trees are often depicted as enchant-
ed, mystical or magic. Classic fairytales and folklores such as, The enchanted tree by Donna Heller
and James Payne or famous tales like Hansel and Gretel and Sleeping Beauty are an influence but i
also want to draw influence from more modern fairytales or storues which have recently been revived
through film productions, for example; Narnia, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The golden Com-
pass.
Plan 1. Area of different breeds of tall
grasses with the metal book sculp- Plan
tures placed in the area. Planting Plan
2. Area of different breeds of tall
grasses with the building blocks ac-
cessable from the pathways placed
amongst the grasses.

3. Willow structure/ shelter with

seating inside to provide a secluded
reading area for the children.

4.Willow structure/ tunnel for the

children to crawl through providing
extra places for the children to explore
and access the site in a different way.

5. Three small trees will be placed

in the site (acers/ crab apple/ dwarf
cherry).

6 The art area; an area easily acces-

able to the building where the children
can play in a small open area with a
table and chairs easily supervised.

7. Locations of the sculptural metal

tree structures; to stimulate the chil-
drens imagination linking with the en-
chanted forest idea and again for ex-
ploration

8. Where the balance game will be

located, in view from the building and
sweet fern shrubs
easily accessable
long grasses
trees (acer, apple and crab apple)
9. Shrubs and ferns around the site
Ground cover (periwinkle, ivy)
creating an exciting forest for the chil-
small shrubs (lavender, thyme)
dren, whilst adults can still effectively
supervise. ferns

Details
Willow sheltered reading area, Art area, Willow play tunnel

The reading area in the site provides a secluded, quieter area, already shaded by the
tree just off the site, where children can enjoy quiet time for reading or alternatively use
the shelter as a sort of den for further play. The shelter will be a woven willow dome,
which can be constructed easily with help from the children and the community. The use
of materials creates opportunity for involvement of the children and users of the adult
learning facility; with the upkeep of the dome (which is straightforward). the location of
the dome is highlighted on the plan below.
The art area creates an opportunity for children to do activities like colouring in out side.
It is positioned at the end of the wood closer to the community centre, for easy access,
to bring toys or art equipment outside. The table is a huge tree trunk and the seats little
toadstools or smaller trunks.
The plan shows the location of the art area in the site highlighted in green.
The willow tunnel allows the children to explore the site in a different way, and to access
the planted parts of the site; so they feel like they are crawling through dense under-
growth. Similar to the willow dome the children could be involved in the construction of
the tunnel as well as the upkeep.
After Public consultation and disscussion with the client it was de-
cided that the design i presented (previous page) and three other
designs which were presented were to be contributors to the final
design.
This led to the assembly of a small design team; Lucy Harris, Zuli
Ekemonde and Sofia Mrowka. The designs on this page are therefore
the efforts of that team.

- Activity wall

- (Enchanted forest) Area o dense planting with willow and steel

structures for the children to hide in.

- Curving wall Allotment

- Seating
- (Enchanted forest) Area of dense planting with
steel sculptures to create a sense of discovery.

Section AA