© Underdog Heavy Industries 1969-2011
Beech Hill Primary School
At Beech Hill we were faced with a complicated site,
which was enclosed on three sides by the school and on
the fourth side by steep steps rising to playing fields. The
nature of the hill the school is built on meant that in
effect the area we were developing was more or less a
sunken garden.
The space was designated as a reception area playground
but there was also a requirement to make it accessible to
the nursery children.
We were asked to produce a balance improving walkway, a
bike track, sandpit, ball run and some musical equipment.
We built a tower allowing the younger pupils to see out of
the lower playground across the playing fields. The
highlight of this is the intricate window depicting a jungle
scene. This utilises many different coloured acrylics and
painted framework to produce a window that is
continously changing throughout the day as the sun alters position.
The bike track was incorporated with a curving humpback bridge and the
balance skills area was positioned within the area.
Another highlight of this site is the decorative sensory tunnel at the
centre of the wild area. The tunnel takes the idea of a dragon and
abstracts it into a sinuous multi-textured structure with a wide variety
of climbing species and richly planted surrounding beds.
A double-sided music platform and willow dome were added. Then
we completed the site with a funky ball run to embellish an
otherwise dull brick wall and a mosaic sandpit complete with a
fully functioning crane. A lot of brightly-coloured wet-pour rubber
safety surface was laid to demark the different areas within the
site.
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Heathlands
Chapel Street
College Green
Malorees
Beech Hill
Ramridge
Hart Hill
Willows
Towers
Routes
Music
Art
Plants
Structures
Surfaces
Ponds