With the retirement of over 1000 double decker buses in London, the interdisciplinary practice R.U.A Studio have proposed an adaptive reuse design that turns the decommissioned civic vehicles into safe play spaces for community wellbeing. Titled ‘Playdeck’ and designed as an intergenerational playground, each bus becomes a flexible play hub, unfolding into a landscape of climbing structures, gathering spaces, music, movement and imaginative play stations. The Playdeck can be parked in place of a single row of street parking or can claim overlooked public space to activate neighbourhoods that have been traditionally underserved by playgrounds.
The proposal responds to this year's Davidson Prize theme, Changing the Game: Building Play into Housing, which challenged designers to rethink how play can become an everyday part of residential life. PLAYDECK advocates for its flexible playscapes to be embedded into the streets where communities already live, encouraging spontaneous encounters between children, parents and older community members alike.
PLAYDECK offers a sustainable decommissioning solution that creates new opportunities promoting social wellbeing, a testament to the potential of circular design practices. The project arrives at a moment when many cities are confronting the overlapping challenges of growing pressure on public space and a generation of children with diminishing opportunities for unstructured outdoor play. PLAYDECK imagines a more agile civic resource. The buses can travel between communities, temporarily occupying underused streets and parking bays while activating public life wherever they park. PLAYDECK offers a sustainable decommissioning solution that creates new opportunities promoting social wellbeing, a testament to the potential of circular design practices.
