'Making the pallets. I love crafting new ideas that I've never had before, and it was quite interesting. Seeing how children were happy playing on something that I had crafted with my own hands was the best feeling of the month.' Muli, Wajukuu arts collective, Mukuru, Nairobi, Kenya
I was recently asked to give evidence on creating effective placemaking initiatives in new towns in the UK, and the qoute from Muli, a 21-year-old carpenter, self-taught coder, and passionate community member whom we partnered with when creating a temporary play space in Mkuru, reminded me of the core ingredient of great placemaking. 🔑 The community.
1️⃣ Creating places with the community.
2️⃣ Using a myriad of ways to involve people of mixed ages in creating places want to play, laugh, breathe and dwell.
3️⃣ Using the materials that can be locally sourced, maintained and repurposed by the community.
We were really grateful to be able to do this with Muli, other members of Wajukuu, Thomas Bef Flygenring, and Nakhanu Wafula. In partnership with Kounkuey Design Initiative. Collectively, we redistributed power to community members to create playful, social spaces using pens, paper, collective ideas, locally sourced pallets, mattresses, and cushions.
For less than 100 GBP and in less than a day, we created playful structures that transformed a street into a play space. Places for jumping, pretending, socialising, exploring, communicating.
ExaSimple structures that can be moved, rearranged and reshaped to create even more places of play.
Let's never underestimate the value of engaging people, children included, in creating valued places.
hashtag#placemaking hashtag#codesign hashtag#circularity hashtag#play
Children used lego and modelling clay to sculpt their ideas
Child design -illustrating their desire for a place to run with others and race
Hiding and communing in pallet play space
Active movement and joy in pallet play space
