Garden School


A transformative redesign for an outstanding school for 4–16-year-olds with special educational needs in Hackney

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We were asked to give a former storage space a much-needed makeover to create a nature-inspired recuperation space for the children who were becoming overwhelmed with noise & activity in the adjacent playground.

Due to the safeguarding issues surrounding plants in the space, the team had to creatively find ways of introducing nature in non-direct ways.

We mimicked nature using natural analogues, such as natural textures, patterns, colours and images in floor and wall coverings.

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In addition to the finishings, we introduced some key spatial features which contributed to meeting the children’s diverse sensory needs, these included:

  • Window seats to view the playground from, with a sense of prospect
  • Hexagonal seating niches, with a sense of retreat
  • A “cause and effect” interactive feature to engage children with sounds and textures of nature

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