Created to provide respite from treatment and medical intervention for children and their families, the new Royal London Children’s Hospital will feature an Activity Space and a Sky Garden.
Formally known as the Ann Riches Healing Space, the Activity space is designed by the architects Cottrell and Vermeulen and designer Morag Myerscough, who worked together to create a vibrant children-friendly oversized living room, filled with Alice in Wonderland-scale objects.
To make the area more playful as well as vibrant, supersized animals including, ‘Twoo’ the wise owl perched on an oversized chair and ‘Eddie’ the gentle giant tiger lounging in front of a giant TV have been featured, Vibrant spinning tops serve as seating and cubes as building blocks.
It also includes other playful features like an enormous neon lampshade that creates a disco space for dazzling interactive games and a gigantic storytelling chair; and a room size television, which allows children to enter and play with interactive games designed by digital art wizard Chris O’Shea.
Apart from the Activity Area, the children’s hospital also features another attraction for children – the Sky Garden, which is designed by Cottrell and Vermeulen. The Sky Garden features a rooftop forest, which includes a tepee, a sky forest and tree house with a wildlife sound installation by acclaimed BBC wildlife recorder Chris Watson, all under a sculptural canopy.
Designed to provide expansive views over the whole of east London and beyond, the sky Garden can be used by play specialists, teachers, occupational and physiotherapists to enhance the treatment of young patients.
