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THE SPACES OF

SKATEBDARDING

Embraced worldwide by municipalities and youth fashion

brands, skateboarding and its venues have undergone a
multi-million pound resurgence, writes Iain Borden
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Over the past few weeks, skateboarding has enjoyed

considerable media attention, most recently when
English Heritage announced its listing of Rom Skatepark
in Hornchurch. built in 1978 to designs by Adrian Roll
and G-Force. It is the first European skatepark to be
granted heritage status. And in September London
skateboarders gained a famous victory when the
Southbank Centre signed a Section 106 agreement
with Lambeth. securing skateboarding's future in the
undercroft beneaththe Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Yet in many ways these events are just the tip of
the iceberg, for over the past 15 years skateboarding
architecture of all manner of sizes, shapes and purpose
has been springing up. The spaces of skateboarding
are flourishing, and in unexpected ways. The most
obvious has been the provision of hundreds of new
skateparks following a dramatic rise in the popularity
of skateboarding in the late 1990s. Recognising that
skateboarding is healthy, affordable and accessible
while also encouraging confidence. independence
and creativity just about every UK local authorityhas
provided at least one new skatepark since 2000.
One of the first in the new wave was the 100,000

28.11.14

Above and opposite

The newly listed Rom
Skatepark (1976)
in Hornchurch, east
London, designed
by Adrian Rolt
and G~Force

Buszy Skateplaza in Milton Keynes (2005). where

architect Richard Ferrington and pro-skater Rob
Selley worked with local youth to create a new kind
of skateboard architecture. Unlike the spectacular
transition forms of Rom and other 1970s skateparks,
which were based on the swimming pools and spillways
favoured by early American skaters. Buszy was inspired
by the everyday benches. ledges. steps and handrails
preferred by contemporary street-based skateboarders.
Scores of other UK skateplazas followed. including the
560,000, 3.200m9 facilityat Central Forest Park in
Stoke-on-Trent (2005) and the 600,000. 2,400m?
Prissick Plaza in Middlesbrough (2006).
Today, brand new skateparks by established designers
such as Canvas, Freestyle. Gravity, Maverick and
Wheelscape still incorporate these skateplaza-style
components. However, lollowing a resurgence in
transitionstyleskateboarding, they also usually feature
flow-bowl elements, the latter extending the rounded
1970s skatepark forms into more varied shapes and
combinations. Freestyle's The Level skatepark in
Brighton (2013). for example, offers a dense array of
bowls, blocks, pyramids, steps and ledges. >

Culture
7716 3/urrcs a_/'5tu!I>mIr;/irrg

Similar compositions are found in large indoor

facilitiessuch as Adrenaline Alley in Corby, Creation in
Birmingham. Revolution in Broadstairs and Unit 23 in
Dumbarton. where a lunar landscape of skateboardable
terrain is constructed from wood cheaper to build and
easier to modify than concrete.
In contrast to the mainly privately financed skateparks
of the 1970s. most skateparks are now operated by
local councils or charity groups. using skateboarding to
encourage youngsters into physical and creative activity.
Adults. too. are catered for Cyclopark in Gravesend
and XC in Hemel Hempstead are typical. offering
skateboarding alongside BMX. cycling and climbing.
Still other ventures have even more ambitious social
agendas. Community-oriented projects like Skateistan
(Afghanistan. Cambodia and South Africa). Skatepal
(Palestine). 7Hi||s (Jordan). Bedouins (Tunisia) and All
Nations Skate Project (Native American reservations)
all use skateboarding to build social capital and to help
counter deep-rooted social issues of alcohol and drug
abuse. unemployment, violence. gender prejudices and
access to education.
Of course. skateboarding is big business. too.
and other skate spaces are tailored to commercial
considerations. Most obvious are the branded spaces
of companies like Vans. the leisure shoe company which
leverages a decades-long association with urban-cool
skateboarding to maintain a 12 billionturnover. Its
recently opened House of Vans in London's Waterloo
is both a rolling advertisement and a way for Vans to
reinvest in skateboarding, providing a free-toenter
skatepark. gallery and music venue in a prominent
London location. Pop-up skateboardable sculptures and
art installations can also play a similar role. combining
promotion for brands and property developers. creative
opportunities for artists. and challenging opportunities
for skateboarders all in one package. Shoe company
Converse (owned by Nike). for example. has generated
projects in places as far afield as Barcelona. Belgrade.
Berlin. Los Angeles and Warsaw. Its 10-week
initiative in Peckham earlier this year mixed street-style
skateboarding with workshops on underground music.
film. photography and street art.
High art venues such as Kiasma in Helsinki have also
experimented with skateboard-based installations. such
as the Aalto wave-like form inserted into the Stephen

Architects have smuggled

skateboard-friendly
features into their designs
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Clockwise from
above The Museum
of Contemporary
Art. Barcelona. by
Richard Meier; the
House of Vans.
beneathrailway
arches at Waterloo.
London: Rem
Koolhaass Casa da
Musica in Oporto.

Portugal; approach to
Zaha Hadid's Phaeno
Science Centre in

Wolfsburg. Germany

.-.--

Holl-designed gallery by Richard Holland and The Side

Effects of Urethanecollective.
Even city authoritieshave got in on the act. with
places like Louisville (Ohio). the Cayman Islands and
Shanghai all making multimillion pound investments in
large skateparks in order to boost tourism and travel.
Haderslev in south-west Denmark. for example. has just
opened its massive 3.6 million. 4.500m9 StreetDome.
designed by skate pro Rune Glifberg.designer Ebbe
Lykke and Danish architecture practice CEBRA.
Complete with grass-domed weather-proof arena. as
well as provision for kayaking. musical performances.
parkour and climbing. this cultural and experiential
powerhouse acts as a facilitatorwhere urban sport.
street culture and youthful souls all meet together.
If this all seems contrary to the post-punk.
countercultural attitude often associated with
skateboarding. then fear not that tradition is also alive
and well. Not only do street skateboarders continue to
exploit architects best efforts Richard Meier's Museum
of Contemporary Art (MACBA) in Barcelona and Rem
Koolhaass Casa da Musica in Oporto are favourites
but there are even rumours that renegade skaterarchitects have smuggled skateboard-friendlyfeatures
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28.11.14

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into their designs, with Snehetta's Opera House in

Oslo. Foreign Office Architects Auditoria Park in

Barcelona and Zaha Hadid's Phaeno Science Centre

in Wolfsburg all being possible contenders. Similarly
the undulating concrete surfaces of Landhausplatzin
Innsbruck by LAAC Architekten and Stiefel Kramer

Architecture, whether purposefully designed for

skateboarding or not, are eminently suitable for skaters.

BMX-riders and pedestrians alike.

Some skaters are even taking matters into their
own hands. literally. and combining the transgressive
nature of street skateboarding with their own skatepark
construction. Such DlY operations. as skaters call
them, range from the infamous Burnside project
in Portland. Oregon, where over the past 20 years
skaters have fabricated a concrete wonderland on
appropriated land beneatha road bridge. to a plethora
of much smaller bowls, ramps and ad hoc additions in
thousands of locations worldwide.
In this way. skateboarders. too, are becoming
5
E designers and builders, creating their own architecture
E wherever and whenever the opportunity arises. I
Iain Borden is professor of architecture and urban
.1 culture at the Bartlett

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