Local Biodiversity and the Encouraged Expansion of Nature as a Tool for Enabling Play.

‘Play Through Endemic Species’ is a project set on the industrial Island of Spike Island in Bristol, England and challenges societies focus on productivity by exploring the notion of play and how a connection to nature can encourage play in children. The program is a Youth centre constructed out of supporting stone slabs and columns that explore longevity in architecture. The aim is to create play spaces for children that help connect them to the local biodiversity found in the Avon Gorge and more specifically the endemic species found there (species that only grow wild there).

I am looking at the relationship between play and nature as the two concepts have an intrinsic ability to offer escapism from the busy world around us. I am also exploring longevity through the use of stone to combat the potential flood risks faced by the Island over the next 100 years. The integration of endemic species and nature is done through what I've described as 'wild' courtyard spaces. These spaces were directly inspired by an interest in the way in which nature is beginning to re-appropriate spaces of industry throughout the Island.

The design features a main hall space which acts as both a sports hall and a space for local community events to spill out onto the harbour in front. Flexible spaces are a recurring theme throughout the proposal as the added flexibility and spontaneity of multi use rooms help to instil an additional level of unpredictability into the activities within the spaces designed for play. This theme also appears in a dedicated activity space which features a movable partition in order to create an adaptable indoor space for kids to interact with organised activities.

As I was exploring the 'wild' expansion of nature, it was also appropriate to explore less organised forms of play in informal settings. To do this the design features a planted walkway which is the primary circulation route. This walkway includes deliberately cracked areas to provide space for nature to grow in. The drainage of the building is designed to bring water down the buildings rock faces and improve the ‘wild’ growth of nature in the courtyard areas below. Later in the buildings life these outdoor areas become stone ruinous habitats for nature to take over.

All these small design decisions help to generate a youth centre that helps encourage children's play and development alongside the growth and expansion of nature and local biodiversity. As a result a space once used for a car park becomes a hub for community events and sports. The public green space helps serve the community and young children of Spike Island.