Saunders DIY
Building a DIY Skate Ledge: A Brief Triumph and the Need for More Skateable Architecture
Inspired by watching skateboarding in places like New York and Barcelona where skateboarders often share space with other citizens outside of skateparks, we noticed an area in a local basketball court that reminded us of this. It was mostly unused with mud and debris covering it.
After spending some time there, we felt a ledge could be successfully integrated without interfering with existing users. We decided to spend a summers evening clearing the area in preparation for the build.
The next week we embarked on gathering materials. Using a shopping trolley we shipped 8 hollow dense concrete blocks from Covers down a sketchy hill and along the road to the spot. It required another trip back with the trolley to gather the blocks for the top of the ledge. We used angle iron from BnQ for the coping and lots of adhesive to secure it.
It took us most of the day to install the obstacle and cost us £150 for the tools and blocks.
Once the coping was secured,finishing the ledge, we felt a great sense of satisfaction to complete the project as it was our first endeavour in the DIY world. We never felt un-welcomed and even received support from a few curious locals asking what we were doing.
The wide open space made a nice alternative to more populated areas in the city designated for skateboarding. The aesthetics of the basketball court lended itself nicely to creativity, filming and tricks. It felt like a spot that we could hang-out at for the day, a new meeting place that wasn’t the skate park.
As someone starting out in filming, it was also a perfect place to practice getting to grips with the camera, without worry of getting in anyone’s way. After a few days, word started to get out and friends started to make their way to skate the ledge.
One morning, a group of us arranged to meet at the spot to film, we entered the court to realize that the ledge was not there. It had been pulled out from the ground in the early hours of the morning after only 5 days.
We received news from the council that it was due to it being unauthorized, and built within a MUGA (multi-use games area). On a positive note, we were pointed towards certain resources and people that could help us in the future. We hope that one day Brighton can be a hub for skateboarding and that the city can see the merit in having skateable architecture within the city outside of skateparks.
Lines filmed at the DIY ledge