City Mill Pool Street

City Mill Pool Street is a distinctive temporary community skatepark at UCL East, located on Pool Street in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, next to the One Pool Street building. The facility grew out of UCL's City Mill Skate research project, which explored how skateboarding and participatory design could help create new forms of public space. Rather than following the traditional skatepark model, City Mill Pool Street is made up of a collection of unique, skateable architectural objects or “skate dots.” The designs were developed through a collaborative process involving UCL researchers, designers and the local skateboarding community. Betongpark was closely involved throughout the project, from the early design workshops and technical design through planning and construction.

The project began with community research and workshops, including conversations with local skate crews about what makes a good skate space. During the development process, different skateable objects were designed, modelled and tested before being brought together at the Pool Street site. The resulting park deliberately moves away from conventional ramps and obstacles, creating a more experimental relationship between skateboarding, architecture, planting and public space. City Mill Pool Street opened to the public in October 2022 and has since hosted skate lessons, jams, competitions, workshops, film screenings and community events. The facility is designed for skateboards, BMX, inline skates and WCMX, and has attracted skaters of different ages and abilities, including many beginners and families.

The skatepark also incorporates planting and biodiversity into its design. The landscaped setting was developed with Urban Organic, creating a greener environment around the skateable structures. The project's approach subsequently inspired a skateable garden created for the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show, again involving Betongpark and Urban Organic. City Mill Pool Street is particularly interesting because it demonstrates how skateboarding can be integrated into university campuses, public spaces and urban regeneration projects, rather than being confined to a traditional fenced-off skatepark.

Photos Courtesy of never2old2skateboard 2023