I was initially brought onto the Salisbury River Park project to help co-design a new playground for the city. Since the project was focused on the local chalk stream habitat, this was my main source from which to draw inspiration for my public engagement work…
A secondary aim was to make the playground accessible and stimulating for those with learning difficulties. For this reason, I worked with Exeter House School and began developing ideas for an interactive play feature themed on the river.
As the wider playground designs began to take shape, we decided to include some bespoke information boards. Combining this with my earlier Exeter House work, I came up with the idea of making the boards double-sided: one side for information, the other for interactive play – the Interactive Avon Boards were conceived!
They ended up being an incredibly complex build with multiple technical demands: fun and accessible game design, many moving parts with precise mechanisms, painted carvings, intricate metal-lined groove structure, high durability in a high-use area… As the multi-layered problem-solving started, three novel river-themed games took shape, designed, built and installed by me:
