Image above: St Thomas Children’s Centre, Birmingham (2011). Four gardens created for ages ranging from one to five years old, with an additional garden for families ‘Stay & Play’.
Play underpins the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework. It also underpins learning and all aspects of children’s development. Through play, children develop language skills, their emotions, resilience and creativity, social and intellectual skills. For most children their play is natural and spontaneous although some children may need additional help from adults.
Jim has created outdoor learning environments in Norwich, Birmingham, Wigan, Dumfries, Hebburn and created bespoke spaces in numerous others. Each ‘garden’ is bespoke in character, but common elements supporting children’s learning are adaptability of space by the child, and moveable natural materials – particularly sand and water.
Projects are undertaken from initial consultation, masterplan drawings, scale models, through to building and landscape works. Specialist contractors and artworks are commissioned and work collaboratively within the project.
Image above: A multi-functional timber structure provided screening to a car park and adjacent road, whilst presenting physical challenges along its length. Set within the structure were crawl under den spaces, a theatre stage set, and role play shop fronts and hatches. Fast growing willow pollards established a leafy backdrop. Located within the St Thomas Children’s Centre (Birmingham) for the eldest nursery children. Designed & delivered by Touchwood Play (Bristol), with installation supported by Jim Buchanan Projects.
Image above: St Thomas Children’s Centre also incorporated a wide range of smaller compact spaces, that allowed an individual child to find a comfortable space, or to allow two or three friends to sit back and observe the wider garden.
A line drawing technique has been refined and combined with a bird’s eye or ‘axonometric’ viewpoint, this gives a clear explanation as to arrangement and scale of a new play space.
Jim Buchanan Projects 