creative playscapes
Dissatisfaction with traditional attitudes and methods of accommodating play in the environment have made school and park administrations more welcoming toward non-conventional play solutions that deviate from the standard play equipment company offerings. This includes less specific custom play structures and environments that stimulate more inventive play. Custom play structures can also relate more directly to the larger design character of the project so that the playground can be a continuation of the surrounding architecture rather than a collection of unrelated structures in primary colors that are selected from a catalog.
We always work to include plants and landscape elements in the play environments we design. The presence of plants helps integrate the playground into the larger landscape and provides a valuable educational opportunity. Biophylic design principles recognize that the close proximity to natural elements enhance the educational environment and benefit childhood development. We have designed many children’s gardens where children can witness, and participate in, the cultivation of plants.
Another approach to playground design includes assembling elements that might not be specifically designed for play but present opportunities for children to find amusement and invent games. This might include a paving pattern that invites hopping from one spot to another, a row of round seats that can become elevated stepping stones or the careful placement of rocks and logs to create an informal obstacle course. In this way an area can serve as a playground without being cordoned off exclusively for children and can be an aesthetic enhancement to the larger landscape.
Flexible play spaces that enable the child to take part in the shaping the space itself are also important. Movable components and building materials can be provided to encourage children to construct play forts and houses of their own design.
Liability concerns continue to be a major challenge to the custom design of playgrounds with safety concerns becoming a dominant shaper of play environments. Although actual building code requirements for playgrounds are rare, playground design becomes a delicate negotiation of guidelines and standards that need to be satisfied to provide a defense against possible future lawsuits. Standards tend to separate play elements with mandated fall zones that must adhere to a very limited palette of acceptable materials. With each element isolated in its own protective safe zone it difficult to maintain an integrated composition. The standards view plants as a hazard rather than a necessary component resulting in many playgrounds becoming paved chain link cages.
Custom playscapes that are well composed, meet safety standards and are, most importantly, FUN present some of the most challenging landscapes we design.