When does a workspace become a place to play?

In an annual competition for emerging architects, this proposal for a temporary installation in the atrium of Arup Associates’ headquarters in central London was shortlisted by the judging panel.

'The swings animate the atrium and evoke the nostalgia and thrills of a fairground ride'

With a brief entitled ‘Designing for People’, we wanted to find a design that would fill the seven-storey atrium and connect to staff and visitors in a direct and playful way. We used two materials – steel and brightly coloured cord – to create a series of 24-metre-high swings. Each array of cords has a varying number of intermediary steel hoops along its length around which the cord is woven, and each swing has a varying mass, moving in a pendulum motion according to the position and number of the steel rings.