Team proposed converting decommissioned London buses into mobile playgrounds
An idea by architects from WW+P and Studio Egret West to convert decommissioned London buses into mobile playgrounds has been named winner of the 2026 Davidson Prize.
The proposal, called PLAYDECK, was awarded £10,000 by the Alan Davidson Foundation at a ceremony held in Shoreditch yesterday evening as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
The theme of this year’s competition, called ‘Changing the Game: Building Play into Housing’, asked teams to propose new solutions to provide play for people of all ages, both inside and outside the home.
The winning proposal was conceived by R.U.A Studio, comprising Studio Egret West landscape architect Kelci Vittachi, clinical psychologist Owen Walker and five staff from WW+P - architects Ru Quan Phuah and Shaun Thomas and landscape architects Carmen Du, Jessica Huynh and Esther Yik Chi Chan.
It proposes transforming London’s 1,000 New Routemaster buses, which will be phased out by 2030, into mobile, intergenerational playgrounds which could bring outdoor play to existing and underserved neighbourhoods.
Each bus would be fitted with multifunctional play blocks, like puzzle pieces, that can be disassembled into the surrounding area for use in a variety of play scenarios.
Removing the blocks would reveal cavities inside the bus, creating a maze-like interior for multi-level landscape for climbing, gathering, jumping and music-making.
Deborah Saunt, chair of the 2026 Davidson Prize jury, said: “We were most impressed by R.U.A. Studio’s ability to integrate expertise from the fields of architecture, landscape design and psychology into PLAYDECK to create a truly playful solution in residential areas.
“Equally, their proposal to repurpose a decommissioned London double-decker bus addresses the principles of the circular economy, while their management strategy tackles the unequal provision of play spaces across the city with a mobile solution.
“As my fellow judge Russ Edwards said: ‘Somebody get Sadiq Khan on the phone and let’s make this happen!’”
Last night also saw the Davidson Prize’s People’s Choice Award presented to THE (Connected) GREAT (Green) PARK (Play) ESTATE, a proposal to create play installations in post-war housing estates which was inspired by Manchester’s 1979 playground protests.
The concept was proposed by a team consisting of BPTW with Farrer Huxley, Julie Futcher, Arup, and Play Disrupt.
No comments yet