Also from RMP Stephan Lenzen Landscape Architects is this thoughtful concatenation of play with garden and architecture in a pavilion designed to display the environment of North Rhine-Westphalia at a Dutch garden show. Over the last fifty years or so western culture has largely restricted play to the designated real estate known as the “playground”. So when re-integrating play into other public spaces–public squares, sidewalks, exhibition spaces–it is often necessary to add cues to say “play is welcome here!”. Lenzen’s architectonic interpretation of hills and valleys is quite playable just on its own, but the addition of chalk-drawing panels, climbing walls, and bean bags–all in bright red–*invites* children to play in a way that the wooden planes on their own would not. If you’re designing playable elements outside of a traditional playground space, think about adding cues to give the public–adults and children alike–permission to play there. Without them, you may find your playscape–no matter how thoughtful–lacking in players!
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