Victoria Park Gardens, Westminster

Woodscape creates durable hardwood street furniture for renovated public gardens in a historical River Thames setting.

Victoria Tower Gardens, which officially opened in 1914, lies at the heart of Westminster – bordered by the Houses of Parliament, the River Thames, Millbank and Lambeth Bridge.

There has been a playground in the gardens since the early 1920s, when local philanthropist Mr Henry Gage Spicer funded the installation of a large sandpit for public enjoyment.

A significant refurbishment project was undertaken at the playground during early 2013. The project included the installation of a new sand pit, water play feature, boardwalk, swings, slide and additional hardwood seating.

The design of the gardens draws on themes associated with the nearby River Thames and the history of Victoria Tower Gardens as a former shipping wharf.

he versatile Woodscape Seat Type 1 was chosen for this scheme and was created in both straight and curved configurations.

Varying heights of seating were designed to offer choices for different age groups of children and parents alike and was teamed with various other hardwood features such as posts, retaining walls and steps.

Woodscape’s furniture, made from Naturally Very Durable Hardwood, provides a high-quality and modern finish to this scheme, which has high volume of use due to large the number of families visiting it as one of the very few parks in the area.