Summer is always a busy time for the play industry, but we’re taking a moment to catch our breath and take a look back at some of the great projects we’ve completed in the last three months. So grab a brew and let’s take get started!
One of the first projects we undertook this quarter was slightly unusual – not only was it indoors, it was also on behalf of the well-known fashion brand Stella McCartney. With a new store set to open on Old Bond Street, London we installed grey wet pour within the children’s department. The access to the area presented a challenge as it meant setting up at the top of a flight of stairs and installing the surfacing down thirteen steps. However after our technical representatives carried out a site visit, a plan was put in place to ensure minimum disruption.
Stella McCartney is renowned for creating a fashion line with a high focus on ethics. As such, the fact the base layer of our grey wet pour surfacing is made from recycled truck tyres helped the new store truly reflect the brand’s key values.
A second indoor project was completed for Beacon Climbing Centre in Wales. The black and Fireblend design was inspired by the popular game ‘The Floor is Lava.’
We also completed an installation of resin bound rubber mulch at Rugby Radio Station. Working over six days our team installed over 860m² of safety surfacing, including over slopes and mounds to create a play area that can be used safely in all weathers.
Another resin bound rubber mulch install we completed was a Daily Mile style track at Ford Motor Company in Northampton. The track was to be installed directly onto grass between two buildings – when installing mulch onto grass, we always ensure a geotextile membrane is used to make sure nothing grows through the surface. As more business look to encourage employees to get active, we hope everyone at Ford enjoys using their new track!
Mulch was certainly proving popular, as we carried out a project for Kompan that included mulch, wet pour and Enviro-Pave! Working at Normanby Hall Country Park in Scunthorpe the design involved pathways, leaves and animals. However the star of the show had to be a large colourful peacock! In total we installed over 800m² of surfacing, with all of the graphics being hand laid.
Alongside this, we also carried out a very special project at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The hospital was the first in the UK to offer dedicated in-patient care to children, and since it’s opening in 1852 it has been supporting children and families during illness.
In the past few months we installed over 200m² of wet pour surfacing to create the hospital’s first outdoor space for children. The surfacing was designed by Disney, with waving lines and a Micky Mouse compass to fit with the play areas ‘reef’ theme. The hospital is located in the centre of London, and the play area itself was to be on a roof terrace. Thankfully our operations team have years of experience organising roof top projects, so the access route wasn’t an issue.
In London, we also installed in playground surfacing in the Royal Borough of Kensington, to replace the surfacing that had been contaminated during the Grenfell fire.
Closer to home, working on behalf of Playdale we installed a beach themed play area in Clevelys for Fleetwood Town Football Club. The project was completed in four days, with our team installing over 300m² of wet pour in multiple colours.
Over in Lincoln we installed over 500m² of wet pour surfacing at Springfield Shopping Outlet. The design included a roadway and the JCB logo, as our install teams are trained in-house they were able to easily replicate the logo.
As you can see, it’s been a busy few months and we can’t wait to see what the summer holds!
If you have a project that requires safety surfacing, our friendly team can help with free advice and estimates. Contact them now.
