A13 Artscape

Newlands Park

A few hundred yards from Farr Avenue is Newlands Park, formerly a barren square patch of grass amidst low-rise housing blocks.

Artist Rob Kesseler worked for many months with local residents and children to design a new space that includes play areas for children and young people, sports facilities and a scented garden with seating.

The basis of the concept in designing the park was derived from the theme of 'little acorns'.

The overhead view from the adjacent housing reveals the coloured tarmac and play areas to be an illustration of Acorns and Oak Leaves, around which are play and leisure facilities.

This project has been very successful and has recently won an Award from the Institute of Leisure Amenity Management.

Public consultation|

Newlands Park concept

Rob Kesseler's concept seeks to develop the ideas of the community to create a park that is an attractive and fun place for the whole community to play, sit, walk through and look down onto.

The concept exploits a ground plan with a strong visual identity that can be seen from those houses overlooking the park.

Within the plan, zones are created in which different activities may take place, and takes into account the way in which other areas of the estate are accessed through the park.

Rob Kesseler says:

'One of my concerns whilst working on this project has been the need to ensure that the redesign of the park has a long life.

Play equipment, however good, wears out gradually, but the environment in which it is placed can mature and improve if the landscaping and planting is considered as part of the whole scheme.

Trees and shrubs grow and contribute greatly to the visual quality of the environment and how users interact with it.

These thoughts were reinforced with great appropriateness by a family who came to a workshop in September - a mother, who was born and brought up overlooking the park, and her 2 young children.

In the words of the daughter:

'I spent my childhood here and I will probably spend the rest of my life here.

If this scheme had been implemented when I was young, my own children would now have a beautiful park to play in.'

My aim is to create a more interesting environment for children to play in, and hopefully we can do it in such a way as to make it inviting to the whole community, creating a greater sense of ownership and involvement.'

Play area in Newlands park

Picnic area|

Play area in Newlands park

Playground area|

Contact

Arts Programme and Cultural Development

4th Floor

Maritime House

1 Linton Road

Barking

IG11 8HG

Tel: 020 8227 2482

Fax: 020 8227 3254

Email: artsadmin@lbbd.gov.uk|