First, I have discovered that I don’t like posting in themes. So after this brief focus on the natural playground, examples will continue to be listed at random with all other examples of inspirational play spaces. I'm missing the playground art.
Second, the term ‘natural playground’, like ‘organic food’ can be difficult to pin down. Are all constructed elements eschewed in favor of a simple ground-plane of rocks, wood pieces, and earth? What about, say, a plastic slide or a metal swing? Is a play structure allowed as long as it is made mostly of wood? There are varying degrees of naturalism among the purveyors and advocates of natural playgrounds. It is probably better to think about natural ‘elements’; natural playgrounds can be said to have significantly more natural elements than the typical model.
In general, natural playground spaces tend to be custom solutions that emphasize raw materials of wood, stone, and sand in combination with shaped earth forms. They often include elements of water play, and have more emphasis on planted material than a typical playground. They may feature elements for learning about the natural world, like bat houses or bug habitats, and the boundary between ‘playground’ and ‘garden’ or ‘nature trail’ is blurred. It should be noted that some landscape architects have always worked in these elements, without designating themselves specifically as ‘natural playground’ providers.
Third, ‘natural’ is no substitute for ‘well-designed’. In assembling the examples I’ve posted I must admit that I was rather disappointed as to the overall quality of the designs I was able to find; there were many I passed over as not having enough interest or displaying enough skill for a place on the blog. While an undisturbed forest of logs and rocks may be an ideal, and a place to which we wish all children had access, the reality is that playgrounds are inherently designed spaces, and this blog advocates that they be well-composed and thoughtfully executed ones. Just using logs and rocks doesn’t automatically make that happen.
But even a simple arrangement of rocks and logs and earthworks has a high play value and can be vastly less expensive than the pipe-rail and plastic structures too common in the municipal landscape. I would very much like to see us get away from the idea that a playground has to cost alot of money.
Most playground structures get picked because they’re easy for the grown-ups. They come in a box (or on a big flat bed trailer) with all the pieces and detailed instructions and exact safety standards. Just thinking out loud here, but what if someone came up with a natural playground 'kit'--with everything but the sand, rocks, and logs--including precise installation instructions, and appropriate safety considerations, and supplied it as an alternative? Or maybe we should just try to post DIY details on this blog. I'm open to your ideas.
Second, the term ‘natural playground’, like ‘organic food’ can be difficult to pin down. Are all constructed elements eschewed in favor of a simple ground-plane of rocks, wood pieces, and earth? What about, say, a plastic slide or a metal swing? Is a play structure allowed as long as it is made mostly of wood? There are varying degrees of naturalism among the purveyors and advocates of natural playgrounds. It is probably better to think about natural ‘elements’; natural playgrounds can be said to have significantly more natural elements than the typical model.
In general, natural playground spaces tend to be custom solutions that emphasize raw materials of wood, stone, and sand in combination with shaped earth forms. They often include elements of water play, and have more emphasis on planted material than a typical playground. They may feature elements for learning about the natural world, like bat houses or bug habitats, and the boundary between ‘playground’ and ‘garden’ or ‘nature trail’ is blurred. It should be noted that some landscape architects have always worked in these elements, without designating themselves specifically as ‘natural playground’ providers.
Third, ‘natural’ is no substitute for ‘well-designed’. In assembling the examples I’ve posted I must admit that I was rather disappointed as to the overall quality of the designs I was able to find; there were many I passed over as not having enough interest or displaying enough skill for a place on the blog. While an undisturbed forest of logs and rocks may be an ideal, and a place to which we wish all children had access, the reality is that playgrounds are inherently designed spaces, and this blog advocates that they be well-composed and thoughtfully executed ones. Just using logs and rocks doesn’t automatically make that happen.
But even a simple arrangement of rocks and logs and earthworks has a high play value and can be vastly less expensive than the pipe-rail and plastic structures too common in the municipal landscape. I would very much like to see us get away from the idea that a playground has to cost alot of money.
Most playground structures get picked because they’re easy for the grown-ups. They come in a box (or on a big flat bed trailer) with all the pieces and detailed instructions and exact safety standards. Just thinking out loud here, but what if someone came up with a natural playground 'kit'--with everything but the sand, rocks, and logs--including precise installation instructions, and appropriate safety considerations, and supplied it as an alternative? Or maybe we should just try to post DIY details on this blog. I'm open to your ideas.
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