LUC was commissioned by St Paul’s Cathedral School in central London to refurbish their steeply-sided playground and create an imaginative high-quality play space which would allow pupils to develop physically, creatively and socially outside the boundaries of the classroom.The school provides co-education for up to 40 choristers and over 200 day children ranging from 4-13 years, and lies at the heart of the St Paul’s Cathedral precinct and Conservation Area. The school itself is housed within a Grade II* listed building designed by Architects’ Co-Partnership (1965-1967). The playground is also an important archaeological site, incorporating the site of a medieval parish church re-built by Wren after the Great Fire of 1666 and now represented above ground only by its tower (Grade I), the site having been bombed in 1941.In order not to disturb or damage any surviving below-ground archaeological features, the scheme was designed and constructed based on a series of pre-agreed dig depths, following trial pit investigations overseen by MoLAS.It was this rich history which inspired the play theme of an ‘abandoned stone mason’s yard’ to help interpret and illustrate the site’s important and unique story, and also to help stimulate imaginative role and fantasy play.Sculptural items appear through the play areas; a broken fragment of an architectural Doric column as a ‘remnant’ of the Roman strata; Portland stone ‘Masonry’ blocks left from the construction of the 1666 tower and medieval church; a fossil seat which references the fossil rich ‘Roach’ Portland stone (used in the 1960s school buildings).We chose timber-based play equipment to form a balanced mix of pieces for ages 3-7 (+) to allow challenge and interest for each age group, and natural play bark for safety surfacing.Planting is an important element within the play space, both to create a setting for the buildings and as a sensory environment for the children. Low espalier fruit trees have been planted between the new terraces to create a green barrier and lend a medieval feel to the space, together with lavender and rosemary planting.The playground was formally opened by the Dean of St Paul’s in November 2009 and has proved extremely popular with pupils.
