We have lift off! The imaginative and truly innovative team at Studio Hardie have been at it again and their wonderful play creation at our NLHF restoration at Canons House and Grounds in Mitcham, London is officially open. Studio Hardie have designed a bespoke play scheme that responds to the historic forms and shapes of the buildings and grounds including the 16.c Dovecot (Doocot for those Scots readers) and cupola, believed to be the oldest surviving building in Mitcham. All of this was drawn from the minds of local children who worked with Studio Hardie and Merton Council to realise their ideas including the work of joinery masterpiece that is the Scrumpled Paper Tower, a mountain of folder timber designed directly from 3D scans of scrumpled paper sculptures made by local children. The scheme sits within a verdant and exotic planting scheme that we designed to suit the microclimate within the historic listed walls and references the diverse cultural influences in the Community of Mitcham…if you look closely, you can even find Musa Bajoo tucked away in the corner waiting to spring to life in the next few months. We’re looking forward to seeing the play space come to life and grow with our bespoke community garden over the coming years.