Monday, June 13, 2011

Designing for Outdoor Play

Canadian born play environment architect Barbara E. Hendricks states in her book Designing for Play that ‘public playgrounds have been part of western cities for a little over one hundred years now and yet as we enter into the twenty first century there is no other aspect of public provision that has changed so little over the past century and is so boringly the same around the world as public playgrounds’ (2001) and poses the question why this is the case.

Focusing mainly on western societies, she discusses aesthetics, and children’s appreciation of aesthetics, and argues that ‘playgrounds for children today ... are seen to have no requirements for aesthetic considerations in most communities - rather it is an issue of providing a minimal facility with the least inconvenience to “adult” i.e. serious interests. After all it is just for children. Design is serious adult business.’ She stresses in her book the importance of taking children and playground design seriously and puts together a strong case arguing children’s right to well designed and spacious play spaces.

Here at Forma Landscapes we take play seriously. Born and raised in Sweden, where children are brought up with a very close relationship with nature and where it is recognised that children need to play with the world around them, we are committed to providing stimulating, exciting and creative outdoor spaces for children to enjoy and explore. We focus on all of the senses and include a wealth of opportunities for children to seek out sensory stimulation through play in our designs.

So what does a well designed play space look like? Does it need to be nice and tidy like the typical play spaces that include Kit, Fence and Carpet (KFC playgrounds) with perfect edging, no loose materials and prescriptive play equipment? Below is an image of an outdoor area at a nursery school in Sweden that I visited not long ago. Does this environment offer more or less play opportunities than the traditional KFC playground we are most used to?

Through my blog posts I will discuss design principles in relation to outdoor play design. I aim to bring current research and developments within the field to your attention and I wish to use this blog as a outdoor play design forum where ideas can be explored and played with.

Posted by Mia Witham | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink