Assemble Play

Assemble Play is a specialist  child-led, Playwork supported project, operating as part of Assemble.

Our work is designed to improve the wellbeing and happiness of children and families by developing easily replicable, high quality, free to access play opportunities within homes, towns and cities. Building child-focused, playable thinking into our urban environments.

Assemble Play was established as a collaboration between Playworker Penny Wilson and Assemble in order to deliver Play KX, which ran in King’s Cross between 2018 and 2020.

The projects are run by Penny with a team of dedicated Playworkers, and their aim is to create an environment where families can visit and support their children to play freely with behaviours that are freely chosen, personally directed, and intrinsically motivated.

The play sessions do not rely on fixed play infrastructure, like in playgrounds, but use ‘loose parts’, a term coined by Simon Nicholson and which in Penny’s words are ‘anything that can be moved around, carried, rolled, lifted, piled on top of one another, or combined to create interesting and novel structures and experiences.’

Assemble Play have delivered projects for local authorities (London Borough of Waltham Forest, London Borough of Southwark), developers (Argent), design practices (LDA) Design, museums and galleries (Royal Academy, John Soane Museum, Pitzhanger Manor, Headstone Manor, Ty Pawb,) schools (Hugh Myddelton School), art festivals (Brent Biennial) and charities (Toynbee Hall, Great Ormond Street).

Future projects include a long-term residency in North Kensington. Further information on what Assemble Play are planning can be found on the instagram here.