So you have been given the job to get a new playground built for your school or community group and it seems like a daunting task?
Don’t panic, there are really only 3 stages to designing and building a new play space:
1. Deciding what type of play area is best for your organisation
2. Understanding the 9 types of play and how to provide for them in your design
3. Building a team to create the perfect playground.
It is our hope that after reading this report you will be in a much better position of achieving the Best Possible Outcome with your new playground project.
1. Deciding what type of play area is best for your organisation
When you first start your research into playground equipment it will seem like there are so many choices of playground types. But if you zoom out a bit you will see it’s not that complicated.
With 30+ years of experience in the provision of play spaces we have found playgrounds can generally be sorted into 5 types of play area:
• Traditional Play
• Traditional Play with Landscaping
• Landscape Integrated Play
• Bespoke Play Structures
• Nature Play
The play area types can be mixed together to create hybrid models but these are the most common types you would recognise if similar styles are grouped together.
LEEDER PARK | COALCLIFF, NSW
TRADITIONAL PLAY
A Traditional Play area is what you might see in many local parks and schools. This is where a “standard” looking selection of play equipment is surrounded by a suitable soft-fall material. In general these play areas provide the most play value for the budget and are still the most popular for schools but may limit the play experiences provided to core activities such as climbing, sliding and balance.
In a situation where there is a “captive audience” (Eg: a Primary School playground) it is common the children absolutely love their Traditional Play area and they get tremendous play value and healthy exercise from it.
Advantages
1. A “traditional” play area usually offers the most economical way of providing physical play activities for a large number of children at the same time.
2. It usually has relatively low maintenance requirements and spare parts should be easy to get when needed.
3. The soft-fall area is normally bound by a retaining border, is usually only as large as necessary and is relatively cheap to maintain.
4. Well-designed “Traditional” play areas can offer incredibly good fitness benefits, appropriate challenge and lots of fun as children test their skills and strength against each other or on their own.
5. It can cater for a very diverse age range from toddlers to teens in a fairly confined space.
6. There is a vast range of play activities possible with both multi-play units and standalone activities at a reasonable cost with minimal extra overheads.
7. No particular requirement to engage a professional designer.
Disadvantages
1. These types of playgrounds often have equipment which is “inflexible” in its use. Of course, children will still use the equipment in different ways but strictly speaking the activities cannot be manipulated as natural materials can be for example.
2. It normally does not offer interaction with natural elements such as sand, water, dirt etc as a play medium.
3. Traditional play areas can look very “manufactured” if there are no landscape elements to soften the setting of the play area.
TRADITIONAL PLAY WITH LANDSCAPING
Traditional Play with Landscaping are playgrounds that include landscape elements to complement traditional playground equipment are becoming far more prevalent than even just a few years ago.
This is when the playground is designed to include things like mounds that incorporate climbing nets or scramble walls up one side and slides down the other, discovery pathways between the different play areas and maybe plantings and sandstone blocks to add a new dimension to the play area.
These landscaping features add enormous play value and intrigue but the main play elements may still be traditional play structures that are cost effective and offer high play value.
Advantages
1. Traditional Play with Landscaping offers opportunities for children to interact with natural elements of the play area.
2. It “softens” the look of the play area and helps to blend it in within the surroundings.
Disadvantages
1. Cost increases associated with the Landscaping works required.
3. Adds play value and makes the play area more appealing to the community of users.
4. No particular requirement to engage a professional designer.
2. Ongoing maintenance costs are higher.
LANDSCAPE INTEGRATED PLAY
Landscape Integrated Play is orientated around fully landscaped spaces with custom built play elements and is becoming more common on larger projects.
As the project shown implies this kind of playground is constructed entirely of unique play experiences involving the landscape. It will usually include the use of familiar play elements such as nets, slides and perhaps some independent play elements but the predominant experience is that the play is integrated into the environment. It may include mounds and sunken areas, dry or wet creek beds, terraced areas that lead to new elevated play experiences and specially made bridges of nets or any other material
Advantages
1. Offers a wholistic approach to play where children can engage with nature as they move between play activities and explore the surrounding.
2. The play area has a natural appearance and has a look of “belonging” to the site if designed and built well.
Disadvantages
1. Obviously there is a lot of extra cost with this style of play area. A significant proportion of the available funds will be needed to construct the landscape features.
2. Ongoing maintenance costs will be higher than a playground that has less “natural” elements (particularly gardens, digging areas, plantings and grassed areas) that tend to need more care to retain their appeal.
JERVOIS STREET | SOUTH PLYMPTON, SA
BESPOKE PLAY STRUCTURES
Bespoke Play Structures are designed and built for a specific project to offer a special play experience.
With the increased emphasis on getting people (especially children) outdoors and active there is more funding being channelled to the creation of outstanding play experiences that become destinations in and of themselves. These are the scale of projects where bespoke play structures are specially designed and engineered to provide a play experience that is totally unique to that location.
These can include massive rope play structures, custom built theme play units such as large boats or aviation themed play, tall towers that offer extensive climbing, viewing platforms and sliding and much more. Often these bespoke play structures will reflect some local history or relate to nearby geographic points of interest.
Advantages
1. Unique play structures offer unique play experiences. Children are not only attracted to play at these locations but these unique experiences help to build their self-confidence, resilience, physical strength and of course give the sheer fun of playing on an amazing play structure.
Disadvantages
1. Being mostly one of a kind these play structures cost more to build. There are no shortcuts with safety and proper engineering will often be a significant cost contributor to the design and build process.
2. These playgrounds often become talking points regionally, nationally and even internationally in turn attracting visitors that support the local economy.
2. Maintenance and spare parts can be more expensive than the same for traditional equipment. Especially if the bespoke play unit has been built by an inexperienced provider that has not utilised any common parts or methodologies during the manufacture.
RIVERBEND PARK | LAUNCESTON, TAS
NATURAL PLAY AREAS
Natural Play Areas are currently enjoying increased interest with some specialist designers promoting them and many people rightly concerned about the lack of interaction children have with nature these days.
A truly natural play environment is one where there are no “man-made” play structures or accessories and the act of playing centres entirely around natural elements such as water, digging areas, sand play, gardens (for growing food and general planting), provision for building structures from natural elements (sticks and rocks etc) and other natural play elements.
However, our experience continues to show that the most successful Natural Play Areas still contain some core play structures that draw the children to the area and provide a launching or rest point between engaging with the natural elements.
Advantages
1. Engages the child entirely with nature and natural elements as well as putting the onus back on the child to come up with “ways to play”.
Disadvantages
1. Physical strength challenges can be limited where there is no way to offer play at significant height.
2. Overhead activities are hard to provide for.
3. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!
A play area that is based entirely around natural elements and gets used often enough to justify its existence usually wears out very quickly.
2. Brilliant therapy for children that are normally over-occupied with the “built environment” (isn’t that nearly every child in our western society?).
3. Develops thinking skills, tactile senses, sense of adventure and discovery.
Too often we’ve seen natural play areas, that were beautiful when they were built, quickly reduced to almost a desert scene where plants have been stripped bare, gardens have been worn out by foot traffic and rocks for playing on look like they have been left behind from another project.
4. Most custodians of them don’t understand the very high cost obligations there are in keeping them in good condition.
KARAWATHA FOREST PARK | KARAWATHA, QLD
There will be some play areas that do not fit these descriptions and some that are a combination of several.
The important thing is to be able to identify the type of playground that works best for you and your organisation.
The next stage of the journey to Designing and Building a New Play Space is to understand the types of play that children engage in and how to provide for them in your design.
