Kirsty Sullivan, our Head of Learning and Participation, shares how we're making sure the future Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration meets visitors' needs by inviting local families to help design the outdoor play area.

We are converting a former waterworks in Clerkenwell called New River Head into a permanent home for our work. At the moment it’s derelict after being out of use for 70 years, but work will start later in the year to transform it so that we’ll soon be ready to welcome visitors.

Part of our renewal is creating new public gardens, with interactive moments of play and illustration. We want something different to a traditional ‘playground’ and to ensure that we create somewhere families want to visit all year round.

So, over the summer holidays, we invited eight families with children from 15 months to 16 years old from The Parent House to come out to play with us and show us what they want from a public space. We also asked illustrators Grace Holliday and Joey Yu along to come and capture the experience, so we can show our architects and landscape designers what families really want.

Day One

Our first visit was to the Children’s Gardens at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Who knew how exciting going on a coach would be for young children? Especially when the coach has a huge panda on the side!

The Children’s Gardens are divided into zones inspired by all the things plants need to grow successfully (earth, water, air and sun) and offers opportunities to explore these elements. Earth meant sand pits, water meant paddling and pumping, the sun was colourful while air – everyone’s favourite zone – was rope swings, hammocks and trampolines propelling our young people off the ground. We provided sketch books and a range of pencils for all our participants, so they could record what interested them about the gardens.

Welcome shade on a very hot day was provided by the Oak Circle, where a high-level walkway enabled adults to sit downand watch the children racing about above our heads. We loved the kaleidoscopes, where we could twist the barrels to change the colours inside, and the stepping stone paths through flower beds so we could get closer to the plants.

Day Two

New River Head played a key part in the story of London’s water so our second excursion was to the Adventure Playground at Holland Park. Sustainable urban drainage and the water journey has been built into the park: downpipes from the Ecology Centre roof drive waterwheels, gullies collect water from the paths and, along with water from the pumps and taps in the play area, it all feeds a lush green bog garden and streambeds in the playground.

Wildlife has been considered too, with bird and bat boxes, bug hotels made from stones and wood, nesting material and lots of plants to attract insects. Our families were excited by the elegant peacock which came to visit the playground and watch people play from a safe vantage point on a roof.

This space was more traditional: a collection of wooden equipment on soft flooring with seating around it. There was a long beam swing which could be stood or sat on (depending on how brave you were feeling), a zipwire, climbing structures and tall slides. As soon as we arrived our young people were off, running, jumping, bouncing and swinging their way around the space. No one wanted to leave at home time, and there were several nappers on the bus after burning so much energy playing!

Day Three

The final day was at New River Head. We invited Matt Shaw, an artist and play expert, to facilitate the session and he arrived with a carload of cardboard pallets, tubes, giant balls of string, swathes of fabric and rolls of paper. We added chalks, pipe cleaners, coloured tape and paper, and lots of water and the fun began. Luckily we’d suggested old clothes and sensible shoes, as the day got very messy – for both parents and children!

Over the next few hours the families transformed our corner of New River Head from a concrete space to a joyful maze of dens, DIY zipwires, colourful bricks, pipe cleaner garlands, and long murals woven into the metal fences and barriers. Chalked hopscotch and noughts and crosses boards, body prints, rainbows and toadstools decorated the ground. One of our younger visitors had discovered chalk wasn’t as tasty as it looked, and that satsumas were a much better snack.

So what did we discover?

We asked families what they’d enjoyed about participating in the project, what they wanted to see in a public place and how they wanted to engage with illustration at the new Centre.

Our young people, of course, wanted “MORE!” They were keen on big slides, things that make you dizzy, underground dens and tunnels, and lots of physical play. 

Grown ups were keen to see flowers, herbs and greenery; bird feeders; clean toilets and water points; shady spots and quiet areas; and opportunities for interaction with both water and illustration.

Everyone wants to learn about illustration through sensory exploration and in fun ways: handprints, sculpture, chalk walls and projections.

We posed one final question: what have you enjoyed most about participating in this project? The answers reminded us why we love working with our local community: meeting new families, making new friends, community spirit, the freedom to play and be children, and having fun.

We can’t wait to bring the families back together to show them what our designers come up with, and to welcome them through the gates when we open.

Discover more about New River Head→

Made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.