Approaching this project I spent perhaps 9 hours just gazing at the play spaces which Go Play has already set up, every time I looked I would notice a new way that they had found to put the simple, local materials together. I vacillated between thinking ’wow, I wish I had been able to play there when I was a kid’ and ’what on earth am I going to bring to this that they haven’t already got?’

But that was no good to anyone so I went away and did some research into playspace design, starting with what was recomended in the competition and going from there. Then I made a list of things I thought that Go Play didn’t do so well and decided that these should be the motivating factors in the design.

Here is my sort of manifesto:

The space will promote discovery and free, creative play more than adventure and thrill seeking (though it wont exclude adventure by any means).

It will have a longevity of appeal and will offer challenges to children at all levels of maturation and in some cases this will be within the same element.

Most of all It will be delightful and full of little surprises. It will have something of ’entering another world’ about it.

In order to achieve this:

It has ambiguous elements to spark the imagination.

It has enough unprogrammed space for free play to develop.

It has a few storied elements to weave into the childrens own mythologies.

There is access to nature, varied topography and simple materials which can be explored and from which things can be made.

Especially when it is new, the planted elements will visibly mature and grow as the children do, and with their help.

Colour is treated as a special element to be discovered or to highlight special features.

General arrangement:

The playground is organised so that the more physical, boistrous activities happen in the centre where they can be more easily monitored by staff. There is a loose path from North to South, divided from the faster activites by rope fences, to allow free access from one end to the other.

At the edges are slower paced discovery spaces where a certain degree of privacy or secrecy can be achieved. In the Southern portion of the playground these include extensive planting.

Walk through

There is space to explore in this playground. Here is a walk through of the main areas from North to South:

The Sand Pit:

In the North end of the plot there is a sand pit. In the sand there are some simple, proper-sized, machines for hoisting, sliding and craning sand about. This part is focused on discovery. Perhaps the kids will accidentally learn about forces.

Here speaking tubes are provided which strech from the bottom of the hoist to the top, and from the top of the slide to the bottom, so that there can be cooperation and coordination. The platform and its roof cast shade on the area below the crane.

Also in the sand there is a hand water pump. Giving access to water increases the opportunities for discovery play hugely. It can make a river, it makes sand castles possible, it also makes it possible to water plants as part of the playtime (and maybe get just a bit messy).

Boxes:

North of the sand pit. series of wooden boxes with vivid pink interiors huddle around a tree. One of them wobbles on top of a stack of tyres; another has a roof accessed through a window from where a ’death defying leap’ is possible onto another stack of tyres. They could be part of all kinds of imaginative games. Maybe they are houses, caves, castles, a factory... The point is that they are a bit ambiguous. These are scaled to be most comfortable for the youngest kids to use.

Balance Trail:

A trail of eucalyptus poles, balance beams and tryres leads from the boxes to the hill and offers different levels of challenge depending on the route chosen.

The Hill:

There is a grassy hill to climb up, roll down or hide behind – or is it an island emerging from the sandy sea? In either case there is a large monster’s head made from tyres learing out of it. The bicycle tyre hair offers handy hand holds and it may be possible to take a snooze in the truck tyre tusk. Intrepid explorers can crawl into its mouth.

There is plenty of space around the hill and the monster so that they can be part of other games.

The Pontoon:

A wooden pontoon (made from eucalyptus) spans from the hill to the tower. It is not very high and can be scrambled on to at any part. Another abiguous feature to spark new games.

The Tower:

The tower (made from eucalyptus poles, bamboo and leaf panels). In the tower real height can be achived and is aimed at challenging the older children. Access is over the log arena wall, no mean scramble.
At the top is a ’telescope’ (a swiveling bamboo tube) which overlooks the main sandy area. A speaking tube can relay what is seen to the log arena below.

The Climbing Forest:

From the tower monkey bars lead to the climbing forest: a tangle of eucalyptus poles and a rope net which connects to stepping trees.

The Thicket:

In the thicket there are more stepping trees, a music clearing, a mysterious walking hut, a snake creature and lots of real plants.

The music clearing, set as far from the classrooms as possible, allows the children to vent some energy in a creative social activity. The clearing will eventually be shaded by flowering vines just begining to grow up the eucalyptus trunks.

The mysterious walking hut is like something from a folk tale with its bright red legs and red interior.
Around the edge real plants can be planted and will attract insects and other beasties to be discovered. In amongst this a truck tyre snake joins the thicket to one of the den yards (see below)

The Orchard

The thicket connects to the orchard where fruit trees have been planted.

Learning to tend the trees in lessons could extend into independent, spontaneous gardening if simple tools such as watering cans and sticks for digging are available. This is a great oportunity to have some continuity from classroom learing into the play learning. The fruit may also provide extra energy for hungry children, and give a good incentive for tending them carefully. Fruit tree’s are significant in northern Thailand where their cultivation is being promoted as an alternatve to heroin poppy.

There is a path through the centre of the orchard to the main den yard.

The Den Yards:

Building things is a rich form of discovery play. This kind of play is quite different from simply interacting with ready made equipment. The den yards are places with loose materials for building dens. Milk-crates can be stacked and combined with bamboo canes and blankets to make all kinds of things.

The Theatre:
Beyond the den yard and the tower is a tucked away space surrounded by foliage (eventually). Tyres are aranged for seating and there is a big shady roof of leaf thatch. The focal point of this area is a small hut with a picnic bench attached to the side. The hut has a few shelves and window with a large window cil. Again this is a simple object which can be used fo many things, from puppet theatre past wendy-house to play shop.
The space is generous enough that occasionally classes could be held out there, or it could play host to an annual puppet theatre show...

Sustainability

The playground uses cheap locally available materials and uses waste tyres extensively. The tyres have a double benefit as using them keeps them from land fill or being burned and saves the use of other more envionmentally costly materials.

Cost

The cost of materials is estimated at $1600.

This does not include the hand water pump as I was unable to find information on the cost of parts and installation for this but I guestimate it to be $300-$400. This element could easily be removed from the design if the real cost is prohibitive.

Safety

The playground has been designed with the American standards in mind, particularly pertaining to risk of entrapment in openings and maximum fall heights.

The ladder leading to the ’walking hut’ does not conform to these standards as there is no protective surface below and the risks should be weighed against the benefits.

Location