A new sculptural shelter designed and built at Wish Park (formally known as Aldrington Recreation Ground) for the use of children and families who use the play area.
The sculpture was designed in honour of an elephant said to be buried in the park. It is believed the elephant – part of a travelling circus – sadly died there and was laid to rest in the grounds. The design by Brighton architects Chalk Architecture, led by Paul Nicholson, Jeremy Diaper and Joe Giddings represents the rib cage bones of the animal and provides a welcome shelter and seating.
The eye-catching construction includes glulam wooden ‘ribs’ – a strong, light, durable material – and is partially clad with recycled pier decking, which are also used for the bench. Covering the structure is a series of haiku-type and two-word kenning poems about elephants, laser-etched directly into the wood. The poems, written by the children who use the playground and designed by local designer Richard Wolfströme who ran workshops with the young people to harvest the original material.
A truly collaborative community project, the work involved Friends of Wish Park, members of the community and Brighton & Hove City Council.
Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s environment committee said: ‘This new sculpture will be a very popular addition to Wish Park, providing much needed seating and shelter. It’s lovely to see how the whole community has got involved to help design the shelter and keep the Wish Park elephant legend alive!’
The Mayor of Brighton, Pete West, officially opened the sculpture on Saturday 29 October 2016 which is now known as Dino (Dy•no) the Elephant following a naming competition won by Willa.
Design: Chalk Architecture
Workshops and narrative design: Richard Wolfstrome
as team members of the Threshold Collective
Structural engineering: QED Structures
Construction: R J Dance and Aaron Robertson
In collaboration with Friends of Wish Parkand Brighton & Hove City Council
Funding: Brighton & Hove City Council, Nuffield Hospital and developer contributions
Photography: images 1–14 Jim Stephenson (also part of the Threshold Collective), Joel Wolfstrome, Richard Wolfstrome