To encourage physical activity in London’s Borough of Camden, erect architecture has designed a series of active, adventurous places for Camden schools. I’m particularly pleased to see that for this project they’ve partnered with University College London’s sports scientists to conduct a study that “monitors any change in pupil activity levels before and after the installation of the new active spaces. This will provide important data for understanding the drivers for physical activity.”
Since I am a scientist in ‘real-life’, I’m continually amazed at the lack of real data surrounding playgrounds, particularly data that helps understand what type of spaces and constructions actually drive physical activity. I’m as excited to see the results of these studies as I am to see more of erect architecture’s great work!
From their website: “The London Borough of Camden has one of the worst childhood obesity rates in London, with a third of all ten year olds being classed as overweight or obese. Camden Active Spaces project is a ground-breaking initiative to deliver challenging and intriguing active spaces to several Camden schools with the specific goal of increasing pupils’ physical activity levels as a preventative healthcare initiative. erect architecture with Wayward engaged in thorough consultation with pupils, teachers and parents to target the most inactive user groups and inform each unique design. Together with pupils narratives were developed for the active landscapes to draw in inherently less active or confident children through games of imagining and roleplay. “
At Torriano Juniors School the Earthling kingdom nestles in a landscape of mounds into which an earthquake ripped climbable crevices. Earthlings explore the overgrown ruined city, which has fallen into their landscape as they move around a wide variety of routes. “
The Torriano Infants School playground has become the cloud kingdom. Cloud creatures emerge from a dense undergrowth, bounce from one trampoline cloud to another and scale up into the sky in the white cloud climbing structure. “
The Carlton Primary School playground has been settled by a new community. Its rapid growth has resulted in a vibrant collection of overlapping dwellings that form a complex urban landscape that its inhabitants must navigate every day. “
At Acland Burghley Secondary School we explored the students’ relationship with ignored objects across the playground. The picnic lawn is a subversion of the only exiting feature in their existing playgrounds – the picnic bench. It is enlarged, stacked and distorted to create a parkour and climbing landscape.”
For the past several years Israel’s park planners have devoted their efforts to “themed” playgrounds. This trend began in the City of Holon, which branded itself as “The City of Children” and has spread like wildfire to other parts of the country. Playgrounds and parks built with a unifying theme, combine a pedagogical agenda with a ludic experience.
Shading elements cast quotes on the ground
The Hebrew Park in Rishon Lezion is a classic example of this trend. 65 dunams of land (approx. 16 acres) that had been part of a military base, were designated for a park and playground dedicated to the Hebrew language – one the world’s most ancient languages,along other members of the Semitic language family such as Arabic, Amharic and Tigrinya. The Hebrew script is related to other ancient writing systems such as the Phoenecian.
Signs along the pathways name all the plants which are places in alphabetical order
While it is hard to gauge the effect of pedagogical projects, it is clear that this park has the qualities that many parks lack, namely, thoughtful, educational intent. The designers, landscape architects and planners all put considerable effort into creating an unusual and challenging site, which is easily identifiable and memorable.
Park elements also include alphabets in their design and are an opportunity for the creation of various linguistic games
The Hebrew Park has a variety of activity areas and spaces. These include sports fields, play spaces, water features, grassed areas and bike and walking pathways. The park itself is designed as a path, the shape having been dictated by the constraints of the site – the shape of the land plots which comprise it and the fact that it is wedged between a military base and a residential neighborhood. Some of the military structures have been maintained, along with existing mature eucalyptus trees – both due to cultural as well as environmental considerations. The park’s expanse and variety unfolds as you wander through it; at first it does not seem as big as it is.
Quotations from well-known Israeli poets such as Rachel, Natan Zach, Yoram Tahar-Lev and others provide texts that are the basis of the graphics and contribute to the shaping of various visual and spatial elements of the park.
Steps leading to the slides are also made up of letters
In some places, shading (an essential part of any playscape in the Middle East) casts shadows on their words. It moves across the seating areas, providing an ever-changing focus throughout the day and the seasons. And one can encounter the lyrics and letters not only with one’s eyes, but with hands and feet, as in the case of the “Alphone Hill” (aleph being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet). One literally climbs the words and letters. An etched hopscotch form enables children to create their own words and gives this classic game a new angle and challenge. But luckily too, one can simply, mindlessly, slide down the hill. Letters on swiveling cubes enable users to create their own words or sentences – like Tibetan prayer wheels , allowing you to determine and create your own narrative.
Chalk wall
On the chalk writing wall visitors are given a chance to express themselves. Unlike the parts of the partk in which the use of language is directed here there is an opening for the use of other written languages, pictograms, graphics and other forms of written expression.
The park contains a “linguistic” maze; perhaps as a pretext (no pun intended) for more encounters with texts. There are types (again, no pun intended) of information which are transmitted and internalized through repetition, observation and memory. That commercial sign you saw at the corner of your childhood street is part of your graphic consciousness and sensibility. We internalize written texts as part of our daily life, mostly on an unconscious level. The written texts throughout the maze can be ignored or read while traversing through it. A mindful reading of the text has its rewards as well. A puzzle hidden within the words helps visitors advance through the maze (I can only hint that it has something to do with a prince and princess).
Linguistic maze
Sections of the old army base have been left intact. Storage hangars were stripped bare in order to provide the structures for wide shaded areas. Shade is one of the more talked about subjects of playground in our region. The truth is that there has yet to be found a stable, durable solution to this problem. In this case, this challenge has been met with ingenuity and simplicity.
Former military sheds used as the structure for shading elements
In addition, the site provides a variety of opportunities for leisure activities, with bike lanes, swings, lawns, walking and running paths and much more. This park’s popularity is a testament to the fact that it has successfully provided recreational and educational elements that are of interest to various populations.
The designers have thematized almost every aspect of the site. Even the plants along the pathways are arranged in an alphabetical manner. As the grounds are arranged in a path-like elongated manner giving it the feeling of a promenade, one progresses through various stations and experiences. All planned elements, including the signage, are significant and prominent features of the park experience. One can see that the designers have given a great deal of thought to all aspects of the concept, making this one of the most comprehensive thematic parks in the country.
Swirling elements enable the creation of random sentences
Ohmyearsandwhiskers, not only is the beautiful “Harmonic Motion” net playscape by Toshiko and Charles MacAdam, lately in Rome, now in residence at the Toledo, Ohio Museum of Art as part of their Play-Time exhibition (until September 6), but you can also attend a hands-on workshop with Toshiko herself on June 21 only. Sign-up now to meet a true star in the crown of play design!
It is so exciting to see the increasing focus of museums and public spaces on play…I’ll be featuring several today. Following on last year’s successful installation of Mi Casa Su Casa–an array of red hammock houses–Atlanta’s High Museum commissioned the same artists for a gorgeous new installation of interactive spinning tops. Contemporary Mexican designers Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena used flat nylon rope woven in a traditional Mexican style to make the carousels, which visitors can work together to spin. The High Museum is using the best possible medium–play– to “activate the outdoor space and engage visitors” and “explore how engagement with art and design can extend beyond the museum’s walls through dynamic installations”. It has been an huge success…so much so that there are plans to expand the installation into seven locations in Midtown Atlanta.
In a lecture I gave last year at Site Gallery I talked about “Play without Ground“…what it looks like to break ‘play’ away from a real-estate based definition of *where* play is allowed to happen, to broaden the word playground to include more locations and also more timescales–ranging from ephemeral to permanent. Museums and other public urban spaces are really leading the way in making ‘playground’ mean an event, an action, a happening, even a lifestyle–so much more than just a place. And that is great progress for play!
Last year artist Argentinian artist Marta Minujin filled the Palais Royal in Paris with 70 hopscotch games in her signature style of brightly colored stripes. The three day installation–whose opening was accompanied by strolling saxophonists–honored, in the most playful of fashions,the 100th birthday Argentine novelist Julio Cortazar, whose novel Rayuela (Hopscotch) was set in Paris.
Paige’s Note: Rounding out our set of play-enlivening-public-spaces this week is the recent installation of Pentalum at Boston’s Lawn on D. And here to describe it is Chris Wangro–who started off in the circus and wound up producing the likes of Mick Jagger and the pope. He’s one of the most playful people I know (and one of the only people who instantly got my references to Ant Farm), and has a unique perspective on the use of play in public space. What would it be like if even our more traditional and static playground spaces could be imbued with the beauty, awe, and exploration of the Pentalum? I can tell you…they’d be more active spaces, more energized spaces, building community for kids and adults alike. They’d be packed with people all the time, and they would absolutely compete with the digital world for a child’s attention. Here’s Chris:
Entering the Pentalum is like falling down a rabbit hole, one is instantly transported to another world. It is a place that surprises and tweaks your senses. The Pentalum took Boston by storm this month; in a four-day showing it created something of a media and social media frenzy, not to mention four-hour lines in the rain.
Full disclosure; I wear the Creative Director/Programmer/Impresario hat for Boston’s Lawn on D. As readers of your blog might know, the Lawn on D is a new and experimental park/event space in South Boston. The space is 2.7 acres and has become a hotspot for arts and events. My favorite review of the space comes from a leading blog for Boston culture, Bostinno: “Finally Boston has a playground for adults”. Music to my ears.
The LOD was built as a temporary space, it is a nice open green space but relatively featureless. Our first big step towards enlivening the space was to commission a major piece of public art. We wanted this work to become an icon for the space and draw people to this new and unknown spot, but more – I wanted the commission to be light-hearted and playful to help define the venue as a place that should be enjoyed, actively, by all. The result was “Swing Time” designed by the immensely talented team at Howeler Yoon; it is a dynamic, interactive, tech-forward swing-set that quickly became one of Boston’s most popular pieces of public art. It was a tough act to follow but the success of this large scale play sculpture paved the way for the Pentalum.
On May 28 we opened the doors to the Pentalum, an extraordinary folly created by Alan Parkinson and the Architects of Air. Describing the Pentalum is difficult because the impact is visceral and emotional. The pneumatic structure is vast – and scale here is important – the footprint in Boston took up the better part of an acre. The exterior is impressive but also misleading; it looks a bit like a Nintendo-influenced bouncy house on steroids, it’s eye-catching, fun & formidable but not what the experience is all about. The fun starts when you step inside…
Having the ability to observe people streaming through the Pentalum over the course of several days I noted a few things, first – pretty much everyone despite their age, the heat inside, the long wait to get in, was instantly smiling, if not laughing out loud. The Pentalum creates awe and wonder. The space is also disorienting, its organically shaped tunnels twist and turn in ways that are hard to understand and so the visitor becomes explorer. Being an explorer is exciting and rewarding. I think this is part of the secret to the transformational nature of the experience. The thing is also beautiful. Natural sunlight filters through opaque colored panels and becomes magnified on reflective silver walls that make the interior one big dazzling glow. It overwhelms the senses. Finally, everything is soft (it’s an inflatable after all), people bounce off the walls, lay down everywhere and bask in a place that is gentle and other.
I offer these pictures from my mobile, which brings me to one important note; the most common reaction for visitors no matter race, creed, age, etc., was to whip out their phones and get busy. I’d venture that out of the thousands that passed through, no more than a handful went through without taking pictures selfies/Instagramming/Skyping/Facebooking/Flickring/Tweeting/Vineing. Although Alan began designing the Luminaria two decades ago – long before the age of self(ie), documenting and transmitting the experience is now one with the experience. I leave that as an observation and keep critical thought aside, but there’s no denying that the creative act of making the moment digital is now part of the play.
In addition to museums and public spaces commissioning playful installations, there are a wealth of play and play history-focused exhibitions and symposiums this summer as well. Act fast to take advantage of the Van Alen Institute’s exploration of the network of play spaces that serve as ‘hangouts’ for New Yorkers, because TOMORROW, Saturday June 13 includes three exciting events within the theme of “In the Park” focusing on the questions of
What can we learn from play spaces of the past? (11-1, Central Park)
How do we connect with nature in the city? (1:30-2:30, Central Park)
Is play just for children? (4-5:30, Van Alen Institute)
“Play Pasts” asks how can old play spaces be updated to preserve original design ideas while keeping pace with ever-evolving design standards and notions of childhood. Join us for a fun, intimate journey through Central Park’s play spaces and landscapes to learn more about the work of the Central Park Conservancy and play of the past. Marie Warsh, historian and director of preservation planning at the Conservancy, will guide us on a tour of playgrounds in Central Park, reflecting on the cultural histories embedded in the landscape. Exploring changing notions of childhood and play, we’ll visit the Children’s District, designed by Olmsted and Vaux; Heckscher Playground, the park’s first modern playground; and other play spaces that have undergone a number of transformations, including the newly-rehabilitated Adventure Playground at West 67th Street.
As we grow more attached to devices, the essential experience of being in nature becomes increasingly rare. How often do we touch the bark of a city tree? Scale a boulder? The “Play Present” walk is led by artist and mindfulness practitioner Sara Overton, who is developing the art project Awake in the Wild Experience with Mark Coleman, author of the book Awake in the Wild. Using touch, scent, sight, and sound we’ll explore flowers, trees, and grasses we may often walk past without noticing. Through a series of exercises, we’ll awaken our capacity to be with nature directly, playfully, and with a sense of joy.
As the culture of childhood and ideas about recreation continue to evolve, so do designs for our parks and playgrounds. Join us for “Play Futures,” a conversation about the future of urban play. We’ll discuss how everything from conceptions of childhood, trends in parenting, and evolving safety standards impact the design of our play spaces. Surveying the latest currents, from adventure and imagination playgrounds, to nature-based and intergenerational play, we’ll explore questions like: Is play just for children? Does it need a designated space? What should be the role of play spaces in exposing users to and protecting them from risk? What are our playgrounds getting right? What lessons can be learned from other places? Participants: Amy Fusselman, writer and editor; Marta Gutman, architect and historian; Chris Nolan, vice president for planning, design and construction, Central Park Conservancy; Susan G. Solomon, architectural historian; Nancy Prince, deputy chief for design, NYC Parks .
I love the variation of swings between cultures, and I’ve never seen one quite like this wooden-armed version, photographed by Michael Golosovskiy in 1977. [via]
Also from the former USSR, this 1960 photo entitled “The Orange Sun” by Anatoly Khrupov, of children making chalk drawings on a ground surface of hexagons. I can’t tell if they’re intentional chalkboards or just massive concrete pavers, but it’s beautiful and I’d like to see this on a playground again. [via]
If you’re making a playground, don’t forget to make the ground plane itself as playful as possible! It is the surface that the kids will touch the most, and to neglect it by just pouring out safety surfacing or mulch or gravel is to miss a wealth of play opportunities. One of the Playscapes mantras is, of course, playgrounds-should-not-be-flat, but sometimes altering an existing flat surface isn’t an option; particularly when urban schoolyards must double as parking lots and sports fields. At a series of schools across Quebec the Montreal firm NIP Paysage energized schoolyards with lively painted markings that went well beyond the standard paint schemes of hopscotch and world maps. They intervened only lightly with the ground plane, adding some boulders, log benches and tilted facets in smaller areas that don’t interfere with the schoolyard ‘flat-use’ needs. Even if all you have is an flat, asphalt schoolyard, be inspired by these examples to make it as playful as possible!
“Natural” Playground Sculpture that juxtaposes the profile of a mountain range with the Manhattan skyline. And then lets you climb on it. Fitzhugh Karol at the Socrates Sculpture Park, part of last year’s (2014) Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition.
Norwegian architectural firm Helen and Hard are best known, in the playground world, for their innovative Geopark, which references the oilfield history of Stavanger in both its recycled materials and its geologic forms. They’re doing something different at a new housing development in Sola: weaving small, more naturalized playscapes throughout the development space, as connections between ‘yards’ based on the spatial organization of the old farms in their region.
Rather than building a centralized playground as ‘destination’ in the development, Helen and Hard have taken a ‘play-as-path‘ approach. The play-as-path concept–in which play spaces and play features are constructed around, and intersect with, walkways–allows kids to engage with the space either in a focused fashion or simply along their way, by hopping on a stone wall as they pass by, for example. Attaching the play to the path rather than isolating it in its own space allows grown-ups to supervise the playground in a way that is casual, rather than intrusive, since the walkways are regularly in use. And the concept is money and space-efficient as well; allowing bike-riding, running, and hopscotch to spill over onto walkways that would have been constructed anyway.
If you’re building a playground, think carefully about how it can be constructed in conjunction with path. And if you’re building a path in any outdoor space, think about how it can be integrated with play!
The deadline is actually TODAY, July 1, not July 6 as previously posted. Apologies for the error.
There’s still time (but only just, so hurry!) to share a play space project of your own—temporary or permanent, large or small, built or unbuilt—that can be an inspiring model for future play spaces!
The Community Design Collaborative and Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children are hosting a fun, new exhibition to highlight international best practices in the design of outdoor play spaces. How We Play will be on display from at the Center for Architecture in Philadelphia from August 5 through September 25, 2015.
They invite nonprofit organizations, public agencies, artists, and architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, and planning firms to submit projects. Go here to learn more and submit a short project description and image.
Exhibitors will be selected by July 6th and receive two complimentary tickets per project for a reception on September 10th.
From the Germanpostwarmodern tumblr…Eduard Ludwig was a Bauhaus architect best known for his monument to the Berlin Airlift. I couldn’t find any additional information on this 1956 playground (which appears to be his only play design) or its exact site in Berlin, which seems newly built based on the scale of the plantings. Share if you know!
I’m always excited to see new integrations of technology and play….these are the playscapes of the future, and even while we honor ‘traditional’ playgrounds we need to keep pushing forward with new forms and expressions that will continue to engage all ages in spaces for play.
“Camparc is a panoramic camera ball playground. It consists of a number of man-size balls which transmit live 360-degrees video to a large urban screen. Camparc invites people to explore their surroundings using these unique camera toys through free play. Anamorphic puzzles are drawn on streets and walls in the surrounding area to provide players with additional challenges. These drawings tie together the screen, balls and space in one delightful experience.”
Camparc is by hubbub, a Netherlands practice which describes itself as “..a geographically distributed team of people with backgrounds in design, technology and games….we make things with which people can have fun, express themselves and gain a better understanding of the world.”
Paige’s Note: In this month’s ‘After the Deadline’ column play historian and author Susan Solomon continues her investigation of ‘playground patronage’…the all important financial support and the will-to-build that drives great play spaces. Financial support from philanthropic organizations–rather than typical municipal tax funding–is enabling more innovative playgrounds across the country. Susan highlights two great examples from Philadelphia; be inspired to consider what organizations in your own community would be supportive of innovative play!
After the Deadline: Two Ways Philadelphia is Encouraging Public Play Space
by Susan G. Solomon
Patronage of play spaces continues to expand. Once the province of municipalities, public playscapes are now supported by percent –for-art programs; housing authorities; even the Olympic redevelopment corporation in London. At the same time, charitable foundations are showing a keen interest in playgrounds as public venues and as centers of kid based learning. It is lovely to see that foundation support, which was essential for modern playgrounds in the 1960s ( e.g. M.Paul Friedberg’s Jacob Riis Houses; Richard Dattner’s Adventure Playground), is continuing a legacy.
Two organizations, both in Philadelphia but with very different constituencies, recently came to my attention. One is based in community design and the other is an advocate for local business. While these seem disparate organizations, each has produced a model for improving city neighborhoods through innovative play areas funded largely by local philanthropic resources.
The remarkable Community Design Collaborative (CDC) has been defying the myth that good design is expensive or privileged. They have been doing that for almost a quarter century. Launched (and still housed) by the AIA, the CDC is an independent 501 (C)(3) organization that has demonstrated that thoughtful design can be an essential tool in revitalizing neighborhoods. CDC is certainly not the only community design group in America but it may be the one with deepest range of programs, greatest variety of activities, and strongest number of volunteers from the design world.
One of the CDC’s major activities, in existence since 1991, is to provide grants to local communities. These have been purposely structured to address a common conundrum: how do people with a specific need conceive and pay for a preliminary design so that they will have something to show funders in order to secure a larger grant. CDC fills that void; volunteers, who come from the architecture and landscape architecture fields as well as other building disciplines, are at the center of this important program.
Since 2007, the CDC has tried to capitalize on the skills their volunteers have acquired by examining underlying challenges that all urban areas face. Some, such as affordable housing, are visible and universal. Others, like access to quality food or management of storm water, are pervasive but not as obvious as community issues. CDC began a new program, Infill Philadelphia, to concentrate on these. Each Infill Philadelphia covers a two-year span.
This year, Infill Philadelphia is investigating “ Play Space “. Partnering with the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), CDC will host a “kick-off” exhibition, “How we Play” (August 3- September 11). It will highlight innovative outdoor play designs throughout the world. Like the other Infill Philadelphia projects, the centerpiece of the activities will be a design competition. Three public sites (park, school, library) will be the venues for which the competitors will provide plans. There is a strong possibility that the winning proposals, with their emphasis on using good design to enhance educational outcomes, will be erected. Supportive programming includes design/build days; nature play design charrette or children as well as adults and civic leaders; public lectures that will include educators and child development experts. The William Penn Foundation is supporting these initiatives.
Philadelphia’s outstanding business improvement district, Center City District (CCD, and my apologies for confounding readers with these similar abbreviations), is equally committed to using design to enhance public space. One of their projects has been to enliven the dead zones that exist along Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their goal has been to stich these back into the urban fabric as a way of aiding businesses and residents. They have been particularly interested in Logan Square. One of the original squares on William Penn’s plan for the city, Logan Square has effectively been a circle with fountain for decades; a patch of land east of the fountain, dubbed Sister Cities Park for the alliance between Philadelphia and ten cities throughout the world and created in 1976, had become forlorn and a haven for the homeless. It was also a crossroads, between an area that has been attracting young families and one where older residents have lived for decades. It was ideal for an intergenerational space that could broaden its user base without disrupting the homeless. The notion attracted funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the William Penn Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and several Pennsylvania government programs.
CCD hired Studio Bryan Hanes. Hanes envisioned three components to the new Sisters Cities Park: an on grade fountain with computer jets and graphic representation of the distance between Philadelphia and its sisters; a glass enclosed café (Digsau Architects); and a children’s garden. The garden is the primary play area. It is a hill crossed by paths, rushing artificial streams filled with local river stones, a few fallen trees, and huge boulders. These enormous stones, Wissahickon schist, were retrieved from excavation for the parking garage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Kids (and/or adults) can stick to a winding path or climb and balance on the towering boulders or wade in the narrow streams. The low fencing is only to restrain kids from nearby traffic; everything else is open to all adults.
The CCD has been appropriately flexible in letting the play area evolve. There is a small pond in the area closest to the café. The CCD envisioned a quiet water feature, one in which children would sail small boats. The first day, the young visitors proved that wrong when they appropriated the water for wading. The CCD pulled out the filtration system and replaced it with one that could accommodate swimmers. They also did not replace the shrubs that the kids had destroyed in their rush to the top of the rocks; kids can continue to make their own paths. The total cost, which is not inexpensive at over $ 5 million, incorporates many amenities and draws enormous crowds of multiple ages. The cost is not excessive when compared to what some cities spend for standard issue purpose-built play areas.
The CDC and CCD offer examples of possibilities. There is a great interest at this moment in play and play spaces. Each of these entities has shown not only that they feel passionately about using creative design to build better public play spaces but also that local philanthropic support is already on board to lend a strong financial hand.
Mark your calendar for Play-Day at the Lawn on D THIS SATURDAY from noon to 5 pm! Come play on installations by the Boston Children’s Museumand the Museum of Science, as well as rising design stars such as IK Studio, Virginia Melnyk and helloeverything, along with works by San Francisco-based Rebar Group, one of the pioneers in the field of creative play. I’ll be there, so if you see me, do say hello!
An interesting aspect of new playground patronage systems are the playspaces designed by large corporations as part of the visitor experience. These can be virtually unlimited in both budget and design conception, as the “Mobiversum” of Volkswagon proves. It’s certainly not unusual for business to install playgrounds…but they’re usually rather boring holding pens. I’m now seeing a trend of design-focused corporations selecting bespoke play installations as carefully as they would their lobby art.
Swarovski, for example, hired Norwegian design practice Snøhetta to add play spaces to their “Crystal Worlds”, which has become one of Austria’s most popular tourist destinations. Snohetta used a playable roof that undulates for sliding, extending from outside into the interior of a faceted play tower filled with nets, crystalline climbers, and a beautiful assembly of close hung swings. (I’ve been longing to see clustered swings in a playscape ever since I posted Lea Lim’s Silenceinstallation, so thank you Snøhetta!)
These new corporate landscapes are a real “win” for the playground conversation–encouraging both practitioners and the public to see spaces for play as artistic and beautiful and worthy of serious design attention. They’re generally multi-generational; designed to appeal to a broad age range rather than ‘just’ children, as more public playgrounds should be. And corporate playground patrons are willing to take risks in design and form and yes, money, that specifiers of municipal public spaces just can’t. High-style corporate playgrounds are a great trend that will help push playgrounds toward new ideas, and I welcome that.
