GorillaUK creates a giant wooden play fort for primary school.

GorillaUK has successfully completed the build of an extraordinary play fort at Warrender Primary School, Ruislip. GorillaUK and the school agreed on the design of the play fort based on its previous play forts built for children at schools in Stamford and Chalfont St.Giles.

“We were asked to look at how the school could use an area of redundant land, it was unsuitable for most activities due to its undulating nature, however, it was perfect for the building of a play fort,” explains GorillaUK’s MD, Andy Gregorek.

“We started to plan the layout and general concept in March 2020 but due to lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions we were unable to begin the design work until November of the same year,” he continued. “After which time we began a ground services search, sourcing of timber, the logistics of getting the timber on to and around the site, and then we began sawing and machining the timber ready to begin the installation.”

Although the pandemic continued to make work slower than normal, after a total of one week’s planning, just over 3 months on-site and Gorilla’s 4-person team methodically and carefully turned eight tons of Douglas fir and more than 500 sawn pieces of timber into the perfect play fort, finally handing it over to the school. With its battlements, walkways, arches and a wealth of opportunities for physical play and make-believe, Gorilla’s play fort is a real canvas for the imagination.

Gregorek reflected on the popularity of timber forts for schools, saying, “This is something different to the usual play equipment found in schools. Our specific design means this fort will last for decades. It’s built to take an enormous amount of wear and tear and it will weather elegantly over the years with very little maintenance.”