West Port were commissioned by the Barbican Centre to recreate the London street to facilitate play, whether that is through ball games, group play, solo play, with London as a backdrop. In tandem with the children-focused Barbican Art Gallery’s Francis Alÿs: Ricochets exhibition that is currently on at the Barbican Art Gallery, our show is to be a space that encourages people to touch, feel and explore as they wish, with a mixture of 2D and 3D prompts focusing on play.

As lead designers, we worked closely with St Luke's Primary School near Old Street, co-designing the space together. Their invaluable input has helped shape the look and feel of the street and it was our privilege to bring their ideas to life. The show is only open in the month of August and with a limited budget and time, we wanted to create something that is both impactful, fun and relatively low-fi in our representation of the London street, zoned into Tourist, Neighbourhood and Park. This meant being selective in the 3D elements for the most impact, using available stock from the Barbican Centre and anything built for the show is to be reused for future shows and exhibitions. Key to the design is designing through the eyes of children, which includes everything from the heights of our shopfronts to the mix of colours and tactility of the surfaces. Though primarily for school-children, it is to be for all ages and a place people are encouraged to linger and engage.

With the help of many talented local artists, game and designers, this is West Port's love letter to London, the greatest city in the world, through the lens of a child. Photo credits: Jesse Olu Ogunbanjo