1963 SUNSET P/L Climbing structure for Farrer Primary school

I can’t remember who commissioned me to design this structure but I do remember making a small plaster model to experiment with the many variations that it made possible. It was a bold venture by Henry Satrapa and myself and it seemed to work well judging by the enthusiasm of the children after it was erected.

Sometime years later the education authorities became worried about safety for children on school premises and it was dismantled but I don’t know where it went to. It was a beautiful structure in its own right apart from its useful purpose of challenging children to climb.

I wrote to the ACT Minister for Education in Nov. 2015 hoping to locate the units but they were unable to locate them. What a terrible waste of effort, materials , time and money.

Nobody bothered to let me know what ‘they’ were going to do – business ethics are being ignored these days.

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 The children obviously recognised the challenge and seemed to be enjoying it.

1965-model-alternatives 1963-alternate

 

Small plaster models were cast so that various arrangements could be tried out. Each unit was about 100mm each side . It looks quite realistic.

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This model arrangement makes an interesting sculpture but I wouldn’t put it forward as a suitable climbing structure for children.