Chilton Square is a new woodland playscape within the 67-acre King’s Cross neighbourhood in north London. Adding to the area’s network of green, open spaces, it marks the neighbourhood’s final piece of new public realm.
Forming part of the 26 acres of streets, squares, parks, and gardens across King’s Cross, the square introduces a novel play offer within the wider masterplan.
Project context and commissioning
Designed by London-based studio Root And Erect, Chilton Square was commissioned by The King’s Cross Group, owner of the King’s Cross estate, to transform a former compound site used during the construction of adjacent residential blocks.
The completed square is a permeable woodland playground. Open to the the community twenty-four hours a day, it is designed to support play, exercise, and informal use.
Programme and spatial role
Conceived primarily for children aged four to twelve, but designed to engage all age groups, Chilton Square combines a destination woodland playscape and mini outdoor gym with spaces for lounging and socialising. It also serves as a green corridor, linking the tree-lined Canal Reach to the north-west with the grassy mounds of Lewis Cubitt Park to the south-east.
Reflecting on the project, Susanne Tutsch, director at Root And Erect, said: “Overlooked by residential apartments and office units, it was important to create a space with wide public appeal. With a sculptural structure at its core, Chilton Square combines a kids’ adventure playground, fitness facilities for all ages, and lounging and socialising opportunities. The play area is not segregated but integrates into the wider public realm, with deep planting beds holding the space, adding seasonal and sensory experiences as well as providing a buffer. It’s a playable square for all, day and night, integrating play and the respite of nature into the heart of the city.”
A woodland playscape
Chilton Square is characterised by pine trees, planted beds, cork surfacing, and an earthy material palette. The space forms a sheltered woodland enclosure centred on a tubular steel play structure with a bronze-toned finish, selected to harmonise with the palette of the surrounding buildings.
The structure takes its form from the helical shape of DNA, a deliberate reference to the nearby Francis Crick Institute, named for the scientist who co-discovered DNA’s double-helix structure. The helices extend across the square, responding to site constraints including high-density underground services and the presence of twenty-seven newly planted trees and woodland flora above ground.
The structure provides a framework for climbing rungs, scrambling nets, sofa and basket swings, ropes, balance bars, and additional play elements.
Tree species were selected to suit the site’s shaded conditions, contributing to new wildlife habitats and seasonal variation. They include cherry trees that flower in spring, birches that provide summer shade and habitat for approximately three hundred insect species, the katsura (toffee apple tree), and black pine.
Co-design with children
To ensure the square met the needs of its intended users, Root And Erect consulted with pupils from King’s Cross Academy and Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children. Creative workshops invited children to explore spatial configurations using double-helix structures and to provide feedback on proposed play concepts.
This feedback informed the development of the play offer, including quieter sensory zones, willow dens, and role playing opportunities. The children were also invited to visit the site during construction to observe the implementation of their ideas.
Lighting strategy
Lighting is a defining element of Chilton Square. In line with the guidance set out in Making London Child-Friendly, a report co-authored by Root And Erect for the Greater London Authority’s Good Growth Programme, the square is illuminated after dark to extend outdoor use throughout the year.
Lighting designers Speirs Major installed multi-headed, colour-changing spotlights across the site. Activated by movement, the lighting links the children’s play area and the mini outdoor gym, encouraging shadow play and interaction after daylight hours.
Sustainable construction and materials
From the outset, the project aimed to achieve net-zero embodied carbon. In place of conventional concrete foundations, Root And Erect worked with structural engineers Allt Environmental to develop play equipment stabilised using compacted earth.
The central play structure is formed from reclaimed steel. The playground’s safety surface is Corkeen, produced from a by-product of the cork industry and bound with polyurethane. Hypoallergenic and free from harmful chemicals, Corkeen is a healthy and sustainable alternative to the rubber surfacing typically used in playground settings.
