The brief at Marshfield Primary was to turn some tired and dangerous wooden seating into fun, safe school amphitheatre seating. The new design had to be sustainable, bold and multi-use. We worked in collaboration with BRP Garden Services who were appointed by the school to build the project so they kindly asked us to carry out the design work.
The proposal was to create curved amphitheatre style seating using gabions and composite decking. To really hit home the sustainability theme, all filler materials used in the gabions were recycled or repurposed, creating a mass of textures and colour for the children to enjoy. To achieve this we used; reclaimed bricks, logs, tiles, bottles and eco bricks.
One of the most interesting features of the scheme are the chalk boards set within the gabions, allowing children to draw on them in the playground or they can be used as a teaching aid.
The seating contained pockets of sensory planting set within the gabions. This added texture, scent and colour to the scheme whilst also attracting wildlife. We also turfed around the seating area and added a young hedge to provide some shelter from the fields behind.
