Designing the playground – custom versus kit Both custom-designed playgrounds and off-the-shelf kits have advantages and disadvantages. The benefits need to be considered to meet your local community’s needs. You must consider factors such as the appropriateness to the project site, budget, flexibility, meeting the community and design profile, maintenance regimes, environmental factors, materials, play value and aesthetics of the site. It may be possible to: •
use a combination of both kit and custom products. For example, swings (modifying seats), flying foxes (modifying seat) or climbing nets (extending the net to allow transfer)
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work with providers of kit or modular playground to design and build or source new components. For example, designing and building new panels or sourcing new swing seats and stand-alone pieces.
Designing the playground – natural play spaces It is important to remember that playgrounds are not just fixed structural equipment; they should provide unstructured ‘free play’ environments as well. Natural play spaces are more flexible and will encourage creativity, exploration and sensory richness. They can incorporate existing natural elements within the project site, such as shade trees, vegetation, topography and drainage. They may also help to reduce construction and management costs, and provide complementary elements to fixed playground equipment. Natural play spaces can be: •
a sensory garden meandering within the play space – plants with unusual smells that can run over by children releasing aromas, as well as different textures, forms and colours, or even raised garden beds
Walsh (1991 p. 25) states that:
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quiet hiding spots (within play space)
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sand and water play
Planting can enrich the child’s play
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open grassed areas for ball sports or mounds and trees for running, chasing and hide-and-seek
environment more than any other
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adventure trails.
element. The more varied it is the richer the sensory experience.
Please refer to the following checklist for considerations in the layout and design of your playground items.
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