A fantastic collaboration between Play Innovation, L&Q Group and Axis Europe has been recognised with a prestigious SAPCA Award. The partnership worked together to create inclusive play areas at Silwood Street Ball Court Zone and Pocket Park Play Area in London. On 29 February, the project won the SAPCA Award for Small Sports or Play Project of the Year.
The project
Following consultation with the client and the local community, L&Q set Play Innovation a challenge to design a family-inclusive sports area which would help tackle inactivity and inequality, providing social value to the area.
Play Innovation took a holistic approach to the brief and meticulously designed an award-winning scheme to resounding success.
With inclusivity built into the heart of the design, Play Innovation created a multi-use games area (MUGA) featuring its patented target games, including the innovative Corner Skills, Street Snooker and Crossbar King. Elsewhere, the outer areas were re-landscaped to provide entirely new and safe access routes to and through the activity zones.
To encourage everyone to enjoy the space – regardless of age or ability – there are also informal seating, personal training zones, mini athletics and table tennis tables. Combined, the different areas create numerous opportunities for all members of the community to enjoy and to stay active.
Play Innovation founder, Marco Boi, said: “We have been innovating and creating physical activity experiences and solutions since 2010, continuously listening to people of every age, of every ethnicity and across all genders, in order to understand their needs and to better design outdoor spaces to tackle inactivity. We were given the opportunity by L&Q and Axis Europe to create something special – which has now been recognised by us winning a SAPCA Award for the project. This really is a huge achievement for us and will hopefully help raise Play Innovation’s profile as an advocate of good design in ball courts, inclusive spaces and outdoor activity zones.”
The awards
The SAPCA Awards are organised by the Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA) and each year recognise two outstanding facility projects which showcase the very best in quality, technical excellence and social value. SAPCA is the recognised trade association for the sports and play construction sector with more than 220 members.
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