Nansleden, Cornwall
December 11, 2019
Nansleden, Cornwall
The CAP.CO team are on-site creating the first in a series of new play areas for Nansledan, the Duchy of Cornwall’s extension to Newquay. There are six adventure play spaces planned across the Nansleden community and the first, in the Kosti Veur quarter, will be completed by Christmas.
The masterplan establishes a theme to run across the whole of Nansleden. The play spaces will be zoned to encourage a variety of playing at different sites. We have used Cornish words relating directly to the type of play being encouraged at each space, to allow a concept to emerge that will help tie the entire scheme together as it develops over the years.
With each new play area offering a different play experience, residents and visitors will feel encouraged to move around the whole site and to experience each space individually.
The first play space, Skrambla, is bordered on 3 sides by a Cornish hedge, with an allotment space for residents to the South. Our design introduces rolling topography to the otherwise flat lawn, which breaks up the area and creates pockets within the space for structures and play elements.
'Seaweed' logs are arranged throughout the play area providing clambering, climbing and crawling whilst supporting covered play house structures and raised walkways and visually linking the entire space. The nautical theme is carried through to the inside, with hand-painted details.
Ben Murphy, Estate Director at the Duchy of Cornwall, said: “CAP.CO were selected because of their reputation for designing fun and adventurous play equipment using natural materials, designed to fit into their local context. The designs for Skrambla have a nautical theme and when we shared the drawings with local children they gave them a unanimous thumbs up. We very much look forward to Skrambla being completed and enjoyed by children across the community by Christmas.
“Outdoor play and adventure is really important for health and wellbeing and we look forward to working with the community and CAP.CO to prepare the designs of the other play spaces in 2020.”
Steve Vass from CAP.CO said: “We are delighted to be working with the Duchy of Cornwall across this site and the wider Nansledan development. Our concept is to take the fundamental actions of play and couple them with the language, culture and landscape of this part of Cornwall to offer a different experience and aesthetic in each of the individual play spaces. This will create something of a play trail throughout the community, encouraging residents and visitors alike to move around and explore not just the area closest to them but Nansledan as a whole. The Skrambla allows kids a chance to clamber among a tangle of giant seaweed on the sandy ocean floor providing lots of opportunity for both physical and imaginative play, whilst the sea creatures and bright colours reflected in the rustic beach hut interiors, echo the local Nansledan seaside palette”.
When the Nansleden community is complete, it will comprise more than 4,000 homes and support a similar number of jobs. One key feature will be the High Street that has been designed to house retail premises to encourage independent local traders and artisans with their own unique character. In addition to the new primary school that has already opened, there will also be a church, a community centre, allotments and a community orchard.
