‘Forest’ // Thamesmead London // Client : Peabody
Brief: Transform a derelict underpass into a safe and inviting space through community engagement.
The mural is part of the ‘Painted play route’ designed by Jan Kattein architects and the students at Windrush Primary School. Students were asked to re-imagine Claridge Way as a 'playground for all the family,' they built models proposing giant board games and jungle landscapes. The designs were then re-imagined as a geometric motif to help transform the brick and concrete of a dark undercroft space into a dappled forest canopy. Snakes and ladders from the pavement wind their way around columns and up the walls. The Painted Play route is just one strand of the Common Plan for Claridge Way, a programme commissioned by Peabody to empower residents of the Moorings, Thamesmead to shape a key local open space which will include delivery of new growing space, play equipment, wildlife habitats, street furniture and garden fences. In collaboration with The London Mural Company we used a mixture of stencils, tape and hand painting techniques, we were able to create the intricate design across the space in just under three weeks.
