This week we celebrated the opening of our Rammed Earth Playscape as part of the British Ceramics Biennial!

On Saturday our design team, Emaad Damda, Jonathan Tuckey and Dan Stilwell, attended a private view to get the first glimpse of the festival. 70 artists from around the globe have participated as part of a six week celebration of ceramics, including exhibitions, talks and events.

Playscape uses rammed earth – a sustainable, ancient construction technique – to explore how clay-rich waste materials can be transformed into a joyful, playful and creative public space. Inspired by a lack of play facilities in Stoke town centre, this project invites communities to connect through clay, storytelling, and design.

Layers of earth are compressed with fragments of brick, pottery and rubble, echoing Stoke-on-Trent’s deep ceramic heritage. The structure also features glazed ceramic details made from recycled clay, referencing the city’s tilework and bone china traditions.

As well as offering a space to play, sit and connect, Playscape asks: What stories can we tell through the materials we discard? It is a celebration of place, people and imagination, and a testbed for the possibility of a permanent rammed earth play space for Stoke town, rooted in Stoke’s people, place and materials.

Playscape is a collaboration between Tuckey Design Studio, Sara Fraser, Samsoum Studio, WoodCast Designs and the University of Staffordshire BA Architecture students.