Asha, Kaya, Ellie, Michelle, Marjia and Farishah (Harbinger Primary) and Silvia, Emily and Simon (LOM) shake hands with John Garwood (Canary Wharf Group).
Year 4 from Harbinger Primary School in Docklands have won the model-making prize for ‘Disco Bridge’, with a little help from LOM, as part of Open-City’s Architecture in Schools summer programme.
Emily, Silvia and Simon, helped the pupils create bridge models based on sketches and ideas the class had developed for the brief ‘How would you inhabit a new bridge for London?’ Asha, Kaya, Ellie, Michelle, Marjia and Farishah from Year 4 were presented with a certificate at a special ceremony hosted by the Canary Wharf Group in the East Wintergarden at Canary Wharf on 11 July.
Rowan Massey, Year 4’s teacher, praised the project saying: “The children thoroughly enjoyed the bridge making project. It was a great chance for them to think creatively, solve problems as a group and try out some new model making skills. Silvia, Emily and Simon were fantastic at supporting the children to put their designs into practice and encouraging them to make improvements and innovations.”
Pupils’ comments: “On our bridge there is a disco where you can dance and party. People who like to dancing and having a good time with their friends will inhabit our bridge. We worked out the size of some bridges in London compared to the average child in our class. Our disco bridge will be 14 metres tall and 120 metres long.”
Made from cardboard, toilet rolls, wire and lollipop sticks the class’s concept schemes ranged from double decker crossings with roller coasters (“so kids don’t have to walk”) and bicycle paths, to a maze and Egyptian Pharaoh’s bridge with pyramids and computer games area. The pupils had considered sustainability and all the bridges had renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric wave generators, windmills or solar panels.
This is the second time LOM has taken part in Architecture in Schools which last year saw over 750 pupils from 19 London schools partner with 60 architects to learn more about the built environment and improve their skills in Maths, Art and Design Technology.