Playground equipment-The Enticing Outdoors
Playground equipment-The Enticing Outdoors
Get Minds & Bodies Moving
At this point we've all heard the talk about—and are perhaps engaged in the battle over—the challenge of getting kids outside and moving around.
"There's the idea that play is not in a kid's life anymore," said Trish Burns, manager of Peck Farm Park in Geneva, Ill. "Kids' lives are structured, and paired with the stranger-danger scare from a few years ago, this has impacted that generation and the current generation. Some kids don't go outside even in their own yards. There's no more going out and not coming back until dinner. There are lots of TVs and computers and game devices. These keep kids inside and make them less likely to explore and learn on their own."
But Burns also noted that people have begun to fight this trend, including parks and recreation professionals like her. And among the weapons in their arsenal? Playgrounds! The best playgrounds work to overcome the aforementioned challenges and give kids an opportunity for what they desperately need: creative, unstructured play; a chance to connect with and experience nature; and, of course, physical activity. And the best of the best are beautiful to look at and engaging to the whole community—because they're artistic, because they're educational and because they connect with something deeply loved by those nearby.
So don't despair if you find a sea of small couch potatoes or a legion of highly regulated toy soldiers around you. Instead, enjoy these examples of innovative, excellently designed and executed playgrounds and play equipment, and be inspired to create—or add to—a wonderful play space of your own. Because yes, it's just playing, but it's also really, really important.
Back to Nature
Peck Farm Park, a part of the Geneva Park District, is a 385-acre natural retreat. It's long been a spot for local nature-lovers to enjoy, but this past October, it received a huge boost when the Hawks Hollow Natural Playground opened. "We only had two weeks of good weather before it turned cold, but we had 200 to 500 people a day," reported Burns. And even in the winter, with the water elements turned off, several families a day came to explore the space. "The whole point is to get people out there interacting with nature, playing with dirt and sticks and having fun."
To that end, Hawks Hollow is a one-acre bird-themed play environment, which connects thematically with the bird habitat and restored prairie nearby and also provides many, many educational opportunities related to birds and the natural environment in the area. The entry plaza features an OK-to-touch exhibit with feathers of all shapes, textures and sizes, and a hands-on creek flows through the play area (when it's not winter) so visitors can splash in and try their hand at building a beaver dam or sculpting with mud. "Children like to manipulate their environment—don't we all—so we created some framework structures that they could adjust, add to or remove during play," explained Eric Hornig, principal at Hitchcock Design Group in Naperville, Ill. In addition to the creek and mud-art area, there's a giant bird nest that guests in the play space can add to with sticks.
Other play features include the Falconers Message Center, where a system of ropes, pulleys, barrels and tunnels allows kids to send found-object "messages" to one another, the Songbird Stage where simple instruments are available to use as folks try their best bird calls or rendition of "Rockin' Robin," and Raptors' Roost, a tall play element that offers a breathtaking, birds-eye view of the surrounding prairie. The park is also an "electronics free zone," Burns reported, "so we ask kids and parents to put their electronics away. The whole point is to be out and away from screens."
This playground was entirely custom-made and designed to blend in with and enhance the natural environment around it. In fact, many of the materials used were reclaimed from the site, such as ash trees fallen to emerald ash borer beetles. "This gave us a chance to recycle what would otherwise be waste from this park and other parks within their system," Hornig explained. This wood was used for walls, benches, signs and the log balance beam. "[The logs have] an added benefit of displaying the squiggly paths of insects prominently, providing opportunity to understand how they work." Loose materials (pine cones, sticks, rocks) were also collected from the property, so they're "free, readily available and easy to replace as needed," Hornig added.
"Unstructured play is not an element in a kid's life anymore," noted Burns once again. "We'd never had a playground here and hadn't intended to, but then the idea of nature play surfaced. We focus on environmental education here, habitat restoration, so this playground fit in perfectly with our mission and goals, and the response from the public has been fantastic."
Interactive Exploration
Las Vegas is a place so many people visit each year that we often forget about the community that lives there full-time. However, this community recently took steps to create a segment of downtown that would be just for them: less commercialized, more customized; less new construction, more recycled building materials; and less adult entertainment, more family entertainment.
The result is known as the "Downtown Project," and it includes more than 40 local stores and restaurants (no big-box chains) that are housed in repurposed shipping containers, rather than new-construction buildings. Zappos founder Tony Hseih offered the initial idea, and quite a bit of the financing, to get this project going, but he soon found enthusiastic allies, including Trish Buck-Martin, a self-titled Soccer Mom, who rallied efforts to include a play area within the Downtown Project space. And so Container Park was born.
Although technically not a playground (because of the standards and guidelines required), Container Park is an "interactive play exhibit" for children of all ages and adults, and it was designed with safety, creativity and accessibility in mind. The whole structure is ADA compliant, and the majority of it is accessible by ramps. "To fit [the area's] theme, we built it out of shipping containers," explained Design Guy and Owner of the New Hope, Minn.-based playground company that created the play exhibit, Todd Lehman. "It's Swiss Family Robinson meets urban playground. It's one of the most unique projects we've worked on to date, and we won Best in Show at the National Parks and Recreation Expo in Houston in November [2013]."
Constructed in and around four shipping containers, Container Park features two interactive play panels that send users on a treasure hunt around the space to find items hidden in the environment; a Wonky Bridge that looks wavy thanks to an optical illusion; a 26-foot spiral slide that includes sound effects and a blast of air to simulate perhaps being shot from a cannon, as well as adjustable visual effects including a starship and a fish tank; 160 metallic wind spinners; 15 interactive misting features; a giant tree with real leaves growing at the top; and an angled lookout window that provides a view of the park from 40 feet in the air.
"The space can be adapted by the youth for different uses. Imagination reigns!" said Buck-Martin. In addition to this concept of free, creative play, the interactive, sense-stimulating element is key to Container Park. "Kids are being raised on games and apps," Lehman noted. "Why not build them into the play environment and get them moving at the same time?"
And although creating this sculptural and interactive artistic space probably cost a bit more than a standard snap-together playground at the outset, "the long-term benefits pay out as we've learned these playgrounds are more visited and utilized over time and generate more business," Lehman noted. "What we're creating is much larger than just equipment to play on. We're creating environments that are truly immersive. Every single element is unique and encourages kids to see play in a whole different way."
He seems to be on to something. Officially open since December 2013, Container Park had hosted more than 250,000 visitors by mid-February 2014. "This has been such an amazing addition to downtown Las Vegas," Buck-Martin said. "Take it from our youngest critics when they don't want to leave and there are lines outside the space to get in and have fun."
Getting the App Outside
There seems to be a developing "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude about technology in children's lives where recreation is concerned. But this doesn't mean just giving in. Instead, a Lewisburg, Pa.-based play equipment manufacturer conceptualized and developed equipment that incorporates sensory elements and interactive games into playground pieces designed to grab kids' technology-loving attention and then get them moving.
"In order to make unstructured outdoor play meaningful and relevant to today's tech-savvy children, we had to re-imagine traditional playground equipment," explained Ian Proud, research manager with the company. This company, along with many others in the industry, believes the playground can still be an exciting, engaging place. "[The equipment] gives new meaning to the word 'gamer' because it was designed to bring the excitement of electronic games to the playground," said Greg Scott, industrial designer with the company.
The cost of these pieces is comparable to other traditional equipment, Proud reported. "In fact, in some instances it may be less expensive because it doesn't require special surfacing and can be installed on blacktop or grass." Some play areas (like Container Park in Las Vegas) include just one or two elements among their other options, while others go all-in for the theme.
For example, the West Park playground in Nampa, Idaho, includes a whole host of the equipment, and it has been wildly popular from the moment it opened in August 2013. "Whenever you go to check on the playground or drive by, [it] is always busy," said Nampa Parks & Forestry Superintendent Gene Weaver. "[The playground] is close to both a school and a city ball field, so there are always cars around it with other people enjoying it during the day as well."
And while he admits that being the "new playground in town" doesn't hurt, he believes the equipment has other things going for it as well. "The ease of access to the playground due to the soft tile surface and accessible walkway, and the unique features it provides both children and adults have made it a big hit."
Community Connection
Located in the Newland Communities development of Embrey Mill in Stafford, Va., Race Track Park embraces both the area's affinity for NASCAR and children's natural tendency to gravitate toward things that go, as observed by Annapolis Landscape Architects' (ALA's) Sara Thiel, ASLA, with her own children.
Not only does the fenced-in, triangular, half-acre space feature kid-sized vehicles, it offers an asphalt racetrack with striping, crosswalks, banked curves and working traffic lights. But the race track element is not even Thiel's favorite part. "The great thing about this park is its intuitive design," she said. There are lots of different ways for kids to play, but only one actual play piece: a three-way teeter totter. "That's the only specific-use piece," she explained. The rest of the space is populated with recycled tires painted in primary colors. Some are partially buried, some lie on their sides, but kids are in control of how they play, Thiel said. Climb over, tunnel through, jump off, hide underneath—it's up to them, which is important. "We were looking for regional context to give the space a purpose, but it's also about free-form, fun play."
The park includes a children's garden of galvanized planters filled with native flowers and vegetables designed to be interesting in all four seasons. On a whim, Thiel purchased a few plastic watering cans and set them near the water pump onsite, and watering the flowers has become another favorite activity among visitors to the play area since it opened in September 2013 (even though the homes around it are not finished yet). "Kids love having that control with the water pump and carrying those containers around," she said. Children are also welcome to pick and enjoy the flowers and vegetables they find.
With only one true play piece, the equipment budget for this project was quite affordable. "The tires were free," Thiel said. "Suppliers sort of pay you to take them off their hands." However, there was some expense in preparing the space. "We had more cost in grading, planting, fencing and getting the track piece to work like a real track," Thiel said. "It was like building a road."
Channel Your Inner Spider
Whether they're playing Spider-Man, embracing the monkey within, or just getting as high as they can for a moment of solitude and a great view, kids have for years been drawn to climbing elements in play areas, and they've become more and more popular among playground equipment manufacturers.
In their latest incarnation at a Delano, Minn.-based playground manufacturer, these systems of climbing cables have become the foundation of the entire playground. With more flexible design options and customizable climbing experiences, the once-simple web now can be combined with additional elements such as bridges, climbing structures, spinning elements, overhead nets and more through the company's play systems.
"[It] offers kids the challenge needed for healthy development," explained Randy Watermiller, director of product development for the company. Web-climbing structures "help kids advance their balance, motor planning and strategic thinking skills while also providing the opportunity for graduated challenge." In other words, younger children and those new to the equipment will stay low to the ground on more secure cables at first, but when they've mastered those, they'll climb higher and engage new muscles and problem-solving skills.
The inherent flexibility of these web-style play structures means they can combine nicely with existing play pieces or stand on their own. And they can be created in an assortment of sizes to fit the demands of the space and budget available.
Edgewater Park in Rogers, Minn., open since September 2013, is the first installation of the new equipment, and it has truly drawn the community in. Lots of eyes watched the playground coming together, and "soon as the neighborhood kids had the go-ahead to play on the equipment, they were there all the time," reported Watermiller. "The playground has really become a gathering space for groups of families."
Entertaining Artwork
Like some of the other creators and builders at the forefront of playground design, Dan Schreibman, founder and president of a play equipment company formed in fall 2013 in Mendham, N.J., was inspired by his own children. He watched the way they played and then held a design competition in which he invited three firms to submit their ideas for a new sort of play structure.
"I wanted it to look like nothing that's been seen before," he said. "It should offer tons of different sensory experiences, unstructured play and the opportunity for social interaction." The contest was a wonderful process, and the winning firm, LTL Architects in New York City, created four basic pieces, which now can be scaled, customized and ordered for play spaces around the world. (The first installation of the equipment recently opened at the $1 billion FIFA stadium in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, and there are several U.S. projects in development.)
Current pieces include a Corn Field, Weeping Willow, Maze and Ant Farm. The Ant Farm is the "most dramatic piece," according to Schreibman. Designed for climbing—over, under, inside or outside—the Ant Farm is made of clear polycarbonate, which makes its colored climbing tubes appear to float in space. "Kids can climb to the top using upper body strength, or just hang out in the tubes," he added. "And there's interaction between all the people using it in different ways."
All of the pieces are large and can all be used in multiple ways, so lots of people can be enjoying them at once, he explained. "And there's no functionality," he added. The elements are not designed for a specific purpose, which means it's up to little imaginations to provide the storyline. "It doesn't look like a pirate ship, it's open for interpretation."
Schreibman described the elements as being at the "high end" of the general price range of playground pieces, and his goal is to keep them "within reach" of those who want to install them—either in a new space or as an addition to an existing play area. So far, that's been not only people creating traditional playgrounds, but hotels, ski resorts, schools and soccer parks around the country—and around the world. "You can put them anywhere," he said. "People are making an investment, and they want something that will be eye-catching, in addition to offering a creative play experience. I went to high-end designers because I wanted something beautiful and stunning. I want people to do a double-take!"
Outside the Box
So whether you're creating something new or adding some zazz to a playground you already have, don't be afraid to think beyond the usual! "Think about the long-term benefits and what it takes these days to get kids outside," Lehman said. "We need more interesting and fun play environments—environments that appeal to all the senses and fully immerse the child in play."
Find something that inspires you, added ALA's Thiel. "Once you find that one piece … run with it and have fun." But, make sure it's not just something that seems fun to you. "Always think about the kids, bringing them back to nature and putting them in control," she said. "A lot of things in today's world are so structured—it's good to relax and let it be. Fence it in, and then let kids explore at their own will."
Get Minds & Bodies Moving
At this point we've all heard the talk about—and are perhaps engaged in the battle over—the challenge of getting kids outside and moving around.
"There's the idea that play is not in a kid's life anymore," said Trish Burns, manager of Peck Farm Park in Geneva, Ill. "Kids' lives are structured, and paired with the stranger-danger scare from a few years ago, this has impacted that generation and the current generation. Some kids don't go outside even in their own yards. There's no more going out and not coming back until dinner. There are lots of TVs and computers and game devices. These keep kids inside and make them less likely to explore and learn on their own."
But Burns also noted that people have begun to fight this trend, including parks and recreation professionals like her. And among the weapons in their arsenal? Playgrounds! The best playgrounds work to overcome the aforementioned challenges and give kids an opportunity for what they desperately need: creative, unstructured play; a chance to connect with and experience nature; and, of course, physical activity. And the best of the best are beautiful to look at and engaging to the whole community—because they're artistic, because they're educational and because they connect with something deeply loved by those nearby.
So don't despair if you find a sea of small couch potatoes or a legion of highly regulated toy soldiers around you. Instead, enjoy these examples of innovative, excellently designed and executed playgrounds and play equipment, and be inspired to create—or add to—a wonderful play space of your own. Because yes, it's just playing, but it's also really, really important.
Back to Nature
Peck Farm Park, a part of the Geneva Park District, is a 385-acre natural retreat. It's long been a spot for local nature-lovers to enjoy, but this past October, it received a huge boost when the Hawks Hollow Natural Playground opened. "We only had two weeks of good weather before it turned cold, but we had 200 to 500 people a day," reported Burns. And even in the winter, with the water elements turned off, several families a day came to explore the space. "The whole point is to get people out there interacting with nature, playing with dirt and sticks and having fun."
To that end, Hawks Hollow is a one-acre bird-themed play environment, which connects thematically with the bird habitat and restored prairie nearby and also provides many, many educational opportunities related to birds and the natural environment in the area. The entry plaza features an OK-to-touch exhibit with feathers of all shapes, textures and sizes, and a hands-on creek flows through the play area (when it's not winter) so visitors can splash in and try their hand at building a beaver dam or sculpting with mud. "Children like to manipulate their environment—don't we all—so we created some framework structures that they could adjust, add to or remove during play," explained Eric Hornig, principal at Hitchcock Design Group in Naperville, Ill. In addition to the creek and mud-art area, there's a giant bird nest that guests in the play space can add to with sticks.
Other play features include the Falconers Message Center, where a system of ropes, pulleys, barrels and tunnels allows kids to send found-object "messages" to one another, the Songbird Stage where simple instruments are available to use as folks try their best bird calls or rendition of "Rockin' Robin," and Raptors' Roost, a tall play element that offers a breathtaking, birds-eye view of the surrounding prairie. The park is also an "electronics free zone," Burns reported, "so we ask kids and parents to put their electronics away. The whole point is to be out and away from screens."
This playground was entirely custom-made and designed to blend in with and enhance the natural environment around it. In fact, many of the materials used were reclaimed from the site, such as ash trees fallen to emerald ash borer beetles. "This gave us a chance to recycle what would otherwise be waste from this park and other parks within their system," Hornig explained. This wood was used for walls, benches, signs and the log balance beam. "[The logs have] an added benefit of displaying the squiggly paths of insects prominently, providing opportunity to understand how they work." Loose materials (pine cones, sticks, rocks) were also collected from the property, so they're "free, readily available and easy to replace as needed," Hornig added.
"Unstructured play is not an element in a kid's life anymore," noted Burns once again. "We'd never had a playground here and hadn't intended to, but then the idea of nature play surfaced. We focus on environmental education here, habitat restoration, so this playground fit in perfectly with our mission and goals, and the response from the public has been fantastic."
Interactive Exploration
Las Vegas is a place so many people visit each year that we often forget about the community that lives there full-time. However, this community recently took steps to create a segment of downtown that would be just for them: less commercialized, more customized; less new construction, more recycled building materials; and less adult entertainment, more family entertainment.
The result is known as the "Downtown Project," and it includes more than 40 local stores and restaurants (no big-box chains) that are housed in repurposed shipping containers, rather than new-construction buildings. Zappos founder Tony Hseih offered the initial idea, and quite a bit of the financing, to get this project going, but he soon found enthusiastic allies, including Trish Buck-Martin, a self-titled Soccer Mom, who rallied efforts to include a play area within the Downtown Project space. And so Container Park was born.
Although technically not a playground (because of the standards and guidelines required), Container Park is an "interactive play exhibit" for children of all ages and adults, and it was designed with safety, creativity and accessibility in mind. The whole structure is ADA compliant, and the majority of it is accessible by ramps. "To fit [the area's] theme, we built it out of shipping containers," explained Design Guy and Owner of the New Hope, Minn.-based playground company that created the play exhibit, Todd Lehman. "It's Swiss Family Robinson meets urban playground. It's one of the most unique projects we've worked on to date, and we won Best in Show at the National Parks and Recreation Expo in Houston in November [2013]."
Constructed in and around four shipping containers, Container Park features two interactive play panels that send users on a treasure hunt around the space to find items hidden in the environment; a Wonky Bridge that looks wavy thanks to an optical illusion; a 26-foot spiral slide that includes sound effects and a blast of air to simulate perhaps being shot from a cannon, as well as adjustable visual effects including a starship and a fish tank; 160 metallic wind spinners; 15 interactive misting features; a giant tree with real leaves growing at the top; and an angled lookout window that provides a view of the park from 40 feet in the air.
"The space can be adapted by the youth for different uses. Imagination reigns!" said Buck-Martin. In addition to this concept of free, creative play, the interactive, sense-stimulating element is key to Container Park. "Kids are being raised on games and apps," Lehman noted. "Why not build them into the play environment and get them moving at the same time?"
And although creating this sculptural and interactive artistic space probably cost a bit more than a standard snap-together playground at the outset, "the long-term benefits pay out as we've learned these playgrounds are more visited and utilized over time and generate more business," Lehman noted. "What we're creating is much larger than just equipment to play on. We're creating environments that are truly immersive. Every single element is unique and encourages kids to see play in a whole different way."
He seems to be on to something. Officially open since December 2013, Container Park had hosted more than 250,000 visitors by mid-February 2014. "This has been such an amazing addition to downtown Las Vegas," Buck-Martin said. "Take it from our youngest critics when they don't want to leave and there are lines outside the space to get in and have fun."
Getting the App Outside
There seems to be a developing "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude about technology in children's lives where recreation is concerned. But this doesn't mean just giving in. Instead, a Lewisburg, Pa.-based play equipment manufacturer conceptualized and developed equipment that incorporates sensory elements and interactive games into playground pieces designed to grab kids' technology-loving attention and then get them moving.
"In order to make unstructured outdoor play meaningful and relevant to today's tech-savvy children, we had to re-imagine traditional playground equipment," explained Ian Proud, research manager with the company. This company, along with many others in the industry, believes the playground can still be an exciting, engaging place. "[The equipment] gives new meaning to the word 'gamer' because it was designed to bring the excitement of electronic games to the playground," said Greg Scott, industrial designer with the company.
The cost of these pieces is comparable to other traditional equipment, Proud reported. "In fact, in some instances it may be less expensive because it doesn't require special surfacing and can be installed on blacktop or grass." Some play areas (like Container Park in Las Vegas) include just one or two elements among their other options, while others go all-in for the theme.
For example, the West Park playground in Nampa, Idaho, includes a whole host of the equipment, and it has been wildly popular from the moment it opened in August 2013. "Whenever you go to check on the playground or drive by, [it] is always busy," said Nampa Parks & Forestry Superintendent Gene Weaver. "[The playground] is close to both a school and a city ball field, so there are always cars around it with other people enjoying it during the day as well."
And while he admits that being the "new playground in town" doesn't hurt, he believes the equipment has other things going for it as well. "The ease of access to the playground due to the soft tile surface and accessible walkway, and the unique features it provides both children and adults have made it a big hit."
Community Connection
Located in the Newland Communities development of Embrey Mill in Stafford, Va., Race Track Park embraces both the area's affinity for NASCAR and children's natural tendency to gravitate toward things that go, as observed by Annapolis Landscape Architects' (ALA's) Sara Thiel, ASLA, with her own children.
Not only does the fenced-in, triangular, half-acre space feature kid-sized vehicles, it offers an asphalt racetrack with striping, crosswalks, banked curves and working traffic lights. But the race track element is not even Thiel's favorite part. "The great thing about this park is its intuitive design," she said. There are lots of different ways for kids to play, but only one actual play piece: a three-way teeter totter. "That's the only specific-use piece," she explained. The rest of the space is populated with recycled tires painted in primary colors. Some are partially buried, some lie on their sides, but kids are in control of how they play, Thiel said. Climb over, tunnel through, jump off, hide underneath—it's up to them, which is important. "We were looking for regional context to give the space a purpose, but it's also about free-form, fun play."
The park includes a children's garden of galvanized planters filled with native flowers and vegetables designed to be interesting in all four seasons. On a whim, Thiel purchased a few plastic watering cans and set them near the water pump onsite, and watering the flowers has become another favorite activity among visitors to the play area since it opened in September 2013 (even though the homes around it are not finished yet). "Kids love having that control with the water pump and carrying those containers around," she said. Children are also welcome to pick and enjoy the flowers and vegetables they find.
With only one true play piece, the equipment budget for this project was quite affordable. "The tires were free," Thiel said. "Suppliers sort of pay you to take them off their hands." However, there was some expense in preparing the space. "We had more cost in grading, planting, fencing and getting the track piece to work like a real track," Thiel said. "It was like building a road."
Channel Your Inner Spider
Whether they're playing Spider-Man, embracing the monkey within, or just getting as high as they can for a moment of solitude and a great view, kids have for years been drawn to climbing elements in play areas, and they've become more and more popular among playground equipment manufacturers.
In their latest incarnation at a Delano, Minn.-based playground manufacturer, these systems of climbing cables have become the foundation of the entire playground. With more flexible design options and customizable climbing experiences, the once-simple web now can be combined with additional elements such as bridges, climbing structures, spinning elements, overhead nets and more through the company's play systems.
"[It] offers kids the challenge needed for healthy development," explained Randy Watermiller, director of product development for the company. Web-climbing structures "help kids advance their balance, motor planning and strategic thinking skills while also providing the opportunity for graduated challenge." In other words, younger children and those new to the equipment will stay low to the ground on more secure cables at first, but when they've mastered those, they'll climb higher and engage new muscles and problem-solving skills.
The inherent flexibility of these web-style play structures means they can combine nicely with existing play pieces or stand on their own. And they can be created in an assortment of sizes to fit the demands of the space and budget available.
Edgewater Park in Rogers, Minn., open since September 2013, is the first installation of the new equipment, and it has truly drawn the community in. Lots of eyes watched the playground coming together, and "soon as the neighborhood kids had the go-ahead to play on the equipment, they were there all the time," reported Watermiller. "The playground has really become a gathering space for groups of families."
Entertaining Artwork
Like some of the other creators and builders at the forefront of playground design, Dan Schreibman, founder and president of a play equipment company formed in fall 2013 in Mendham, N.J., was inspired by his own children. He watched the way they played and then held a design competition in which he invited three firms to submit their ideas for a new sort of play structure.
"I wanted it to look like nothing that's been seen before," he said. "It should offer tons of different sensory experiences, unstructured play and the opportunity for social interaction." The contest was a wonderful process, and the winning firm, LTL Architects in New York City, created four basic pieces, which now can be scaled, customized and ordered for play spaces around the world. (The first installation of the equipment recently opened at the $1 billion FIFA stadium in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, and there are several U.S. projects in development.)
Current pieces include a Corn Field, Weeping Willow, Maze and Ant Farm. The Ant Farm is the "most dramatic piece," according to Schreibman. Designed for climbing—over, under, inside or outside—the Ant Farm is made of clear polycarbonate, which makes its colored climbing tubes appear to float in space. "Kids can climb to the top using upper body strength, or just hang out in the tubes," he added. "And there's interaction between all the people using it in different ways."
All of the pieces are large and can all be used in multiple ways, so lots of people can be enjoying them at once, he explained. "And there's no functionality," he added. The elements are not designed for a specific purpose, which means it's up to little imaginations to provide the storyline. "It doesn't look like a pirate ship, it's open for interpretation."
Schreibman described the elements as being at the "high end" of the general price range of playground pieces, and his goal is to keep them "within reach" of those who want to install them—either in a new space or as an addition to an existing play area. So far, that's been not only people creating traditional playgrounds, but hotels, ski resorts, schools and soccer parks around the country—and around the world. "You can put them anywhere," he said. "People are making an investment, and they want something that will be eye-catching, in addition to offering a creative play experience. I went to high-end designers because I wanted something beautiful and stunning. I want people to do a double-take!"
Outside the Box
So whether you're creating something new or adding some zazz to a playground you already have, don't be afraid to think beyond the usual! "Think about the long-term benefits and what it takes these days to get kids outside," Lehman said. "We need more interesting and fun play environments—environments that appeal to all the senses and fully immerse the child in play."
Find something that inspires you, added ALA's Thiel. "Once you find that one piece … run with it and have fun." But, make sure it's not just something that seems fun to you. "Always think about the kids, bringing them back to nature and putting them in control," she said. "A lot of things in today's world are so structured—it's good to relax and let it be. Fence it in, and then let kids explore at their own will."
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