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Untitled (playground) by Picasso, Chicago, 1967
The untitled Picasso sculpture on Richard Daley plaza in Chicago,above, is one of the examples of public sculpture I’ll be using at my talk at Site Gallery in Sheffield, 5:30 pm on the 16th....
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Vintage Double Slide, Ayacucho Peru
Vintage playground equipment survives most often in out of the way places…this beauty of a globe climber with attached double slides is in Ayacucho, Peru. [source] The post Vintage Double Slide,...
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Breaker’s Yard, Sutton House, Hackney London, 2014
Finally, finally—scientific breakthroughs sorted and lectures delivered—a day for playgrounds. We’ve got some catching up to do. First up is the lovely Breaker’s Yard, newly installed at Sutton...
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I am in London for a bit longer but my heart is in New York City today, with the friends and family of Jane Clark Chermayeff. I count myself as one of them, though I think that everyone who met Jane...
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Play Sculpture and the Spectrum of Play in Sheffield
It was a privilege to be at Site Gallery in Sheffield in conversation with my friends Simon and Tom Bloor and some of my dear readers (hello!) to discuss play sculpture, its historical context, and its...
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Cypress Hills Playground, Charles Forberg, Brooklyn NY, 1967
The very last playspace I talked about at Sheffield was the Cypress Hills Playground, by architect Charles Forberg. It’s notable for being one of the playgrounds driven by the Museum of Modern Art’s...
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The Playground Art of Maggie Hargreaves
Also in Sheffield, I was introduced to the work of Maggie Hargreaves, who had just won the 2014 Ruskin Prize for drawing. Her work Changing Spaces II, depicting a play platform in decay, was hanging...
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Pumpkin Playhouse, Yayoi Kusama, Naoshima, Japan
Also in London, Yayoi Kusama was exhibited at the Victoria Miro. While I would characterize Kusama’s work (including her viral polka dotted rooms) as more playFUL than playABLE, she has done at least...
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Sooner Play Tower, Bruce Goff, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1963
In news from my home state, I’m pleased that the Sooner Play Tower, designed by Bruce Goff in 1963, has been restored and reinstalled! The tower and sandpit were commissioned by Mary Lou Price, whose...
View ArticleGlamis Adventure Playground, Shadwell London, with Helen Mirren
“All children should have a place like this” Dame Helen Mirren It is always a joy to be at Glamis Adventure Playground, as I was again this year for Open House London. I generally take my own video...
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Vintage Playgrounds of Seattle, Washington
Many thanks to Justin for alerting me to the great flickr set from the City of Seattle’s Municipal Archives, “Seattle at Play“. Many of them are of the Broadway Playfield, which is now Cal Anderson...
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Tractor Playground, Bradner Gardens Park, Seattle
Reader Justin also sent me the link to this Seattle tractor play feature ( a year and a half ago, which is about the current length of my email queue, for which I am endlessly apologizing). At first...
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Carkeek Park Playground, Baker Landscape Architects, Seattle Washington,
Barker Landscape Architecture is also responsible for the Carkeek Park Playground in Seattle, which references the nearby Piper’s Creek and its Chum salmon with a design that includes rune-carved...
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Swing Time, Höweler + Yoon Architecture, Boston, 2014
Continuing the trend for swing installations, the work of Höweler + Yoon Architecture on the lawn at D Street in Boston has been “wildly successful”, according to the Atlantic’s CityLab. As they point...
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PlayLAND Pavilions, LIKEArchitects, Paredes de Coura, Portugal, 2014
See another temporary play installation by LIKEArchitects: they continue their motif of everyday objects as modular construction elements in their design for the PlayLAND pavilions in Paredes de...
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Westmoreland Nature Play Area, Portland Oregon, 2014
One of the great things about natural play features like jumping stones and timber scrambles is that they can be added to existing parks and playgrounds at both large and small scales. This is a large...
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Wavewalk, Adam Kuby, Pier Park Skate Park, Portland, 2006
Environmental artist Adam Kuby was part of the design team for Portland’s Westmoreland Nature Play Area, and he has also made this lovely Wavewalk as a skateable entry into Pier Park Skate Park....
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Vintage Teacup Playground, Singapore, demolished
Throwback Thursday…amongst all the great imagery of vintage Singapore playgrounds I’d never seen this unique space celebrating ‘high tea’, photographed by Horst Kiechle. It has since been demolished....
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Susan Solomon and the Science of Play
I‘m so pleased to welcome Susan Solomon to Playscapes! Susan is the author of American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space, and is America’s preeminent historian of play. In her latest book,...
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Win a copy of Susan Solomon’s The Science of Play!
The thing I appreciate most about Susan Solomon’s new book The Science of Play: How to Build Playgrounds That Enhance Children’s Development is its boldness. She doesn’t shrink from calling out...
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