Sliding Gate

The Southbank Centre’s trio of slides designed by Sean Griffiths, previously of architecture practice FAT, symbolises the ups and downs of family life, apparently. At 2.5 metres high, the biggest slide in this Festival of Love installation may give adults a taste of the adrenaline rush kids experience as they stare down the temptingly slippery slope. Parents and offspring can negotiate the slides together, then dash off for more thrills around the site: dodging the water jets in the ‘Appearing Rooms’ fountain, and kicking about in the sand on the festival’s urban beach. Who needs day trips?