Play-4-All Spring 2016
The Hadean-Creation studio. We provide sustainable and ethical responses to the client s brief by adding value and empowering a sense of pride and ownership. Hadean-Creation is a flexible and dynamic design studio delivering a wide range of environmentally responsive projects throughout the UK and further afield. With a specialist base of Landscape Architecture we are able to integrate Master- Planning, Urban Design, Sustainable Design, Environmental Resilience, Archaeology and Heritage Conservation with a creative ethos and approach that ensures our designs are eye-catching, thought provoking, carbon responsive and will exponentially increase value while raising a sense of ownership. We are able to offer consultancy services to support development proposals, including Environmental Impact Assessment, Landscape Strategies, Ecological Surveys and Mitigation, Design of external spaces along with Planning Advice. We have presented evidence at Public Inquiries for both development and infrastructure projects, and are experienced in dealing with technical development challenges such as contaminated land, geotechnical and groundwater issues, biodiversity constraints, and conservation/ heritage issues. page i Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016
Landscape Architects have a great opportunity to provide play opportunities for people of ALL ages and ALL abilities; it is a rewarding facet of professional work that we at Hadean- Creation are always excited to undertake. The Studio embraces the concept of informal play provision. As designers we do not solely rely on expensively procured pieces of equipment nor do we misguidedly hope that children will find them exciting to justify the expense. Poorly conceived, ill-sighted and badly maintained play areas are a detriment to social development and often represent a missed opportunity. Hadean-Creation has a legacy of providing first class play facilities, blending children s need for excitement with safety and value for money achieved throughout a lengthy lifespan. We work with the client s (the children) requirements, to deliver a site responsive design that is valued, respected and owned by the users. The Studio s proactive and inclusive policy of consultation delivers success through acceptance, and project longevity providing lasting value. Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016 page ii
Themes The concept for providing a theme to play provision is a key driver to our design principles. We are cautious of the changing fads and aim to produce schemes that go beyond fashion adhering to our sustainable principles of longevity. We draw thematic inspiration from a multitude of sources including the site and context. We blend existing features, recreate lost and valued features and incorporate these within our designs. We value the role of soft landscape design to enhance the experience and welcome the valued contribution trees and large plants make in strengthening health and safety through shading and exposure reduction. Adaptive land use In a crowded urban environment the space allocated for play provision can often perform other valuable functions, particularly during climatic episodes of disruption. The Studio has developed a comprehensive design approach that absorbs play provision into the wider context of the site- providing added value by creating a multi-functional asset for the benefit of all of the community not just the children who value the resource to climb and jump. The opportunity to provide open space for recreation provides scope for a multitude of other assets including biodiversity enhancements, habitat creation and restoration, environmentally responsive drainage provision, flood alleviation and retention schemes to name a few. page iii Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016
We draw thematic inspiration from a multitude of sources including the site and context. We blend existing features, recreate lost and valued features and incorporate these within our designs. Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016 page iv
Planning obligations The provision of adequate play facilities is a key proviso for current national planning policy and is integral with social and environmental objectives of most developments, The Hadean-Creation Studio is experienced in negotiations with statutory bodies to achieve design solutions that effectively blend the requirements of the diverse parties for maximum advantage to all. Good design that responds to a site effectively will provide a cost effective solution to the legal obligations by adding value and engendering a sense of community and pride in the development. Working with the site to maximise play value The site is integral to play provision. We adopt a light touch approach that maximises the potential of existing features to become absorbed within the recreational experience. At a master-planning stage the allocation of recreation areas is key to sustainable site planning. The planning obligations often simply relate to scale and offer limited insight on the ability to provide added value through creative intervention. The added value of Hadean-Creation includes our ability to work within the planning context to develop sustainable and valued design solutions that will have a lasting legacy on the community. Green Infrastructure Providing connectivity to diverse recreational assets is a key component to achieving sustainable resilient communities. The ability to reduce conflict with motor vehicles is a key component to effective site design development. Utilising these green corridors not only affords added value for users but provides opportunities to enhance ecological habitats and introduce green engineering solutions to urban drainage. Effective provision of soft landscape design develops diverse and creative spaces for site users for a diverse range of activities. The concept of developing streets-for-life is key to the Studio design ethos. Through our designs we seek to discourage the assumption that motor vehicles dominate the street-scape and instead develop creative design solutions that eliminate the point of conflict through a developed sense of shared ownership. We integrate the principles of passive surveillance when conceiving site layout for recreational provision, and use this aspect of safe-design in the layout design for play provision. page v Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016
Practicality can engender good design. Safety in play provision is a key legal requirement and the studio through comprehensive designer risk assessments fully embraces the necessity to achieve exemplary safety within our designs. Designing bespoke elements does not reduce the demands for safety and we fully adhere to all safety standards and work with registered play assessors to achieve certification. The Studio seeks opportunities to impose a creative design rationale for practical elements e.g. the provision of playground safety fencing. Wherever possible we seek to remove the default approach of accepting functional elements and instead provide added value through adopting a creative approach to space creation. Earthworks and shelter-belts are both used as key design elements that whilst serving a functional purpose can be augmented to enhance a design scheme. The connectivity between play and education is paramount to our designs; we work closely with curriculum requirements to provide added value. Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016 page vi
Play areas can perform other functions as well e.g. peak flood storage and habitat/ biodiversity enhancement. We ensure that our designs cater for ALL members of society and are open-for-all. page vii Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016
We constantly adopt a design protocol that embraces social cohesion and create designs that accommodates all children regardless of social, cultural or physical constraints. Hadean-Creation Landscape Architects, Urban Designers & Heritage Consultants. West Yorkshire, UK. Play-4-All. Spring 2016 page viii
HADEAN-CREATION 9 Springhead Mills, Springhead Road, Oakworth, BD22 7RZ www.hadean-creation.co.uk info@hadean-creation.co.uk (07789)705339