Friday, July 9, 2010

Ping Pong on the Playground


There was a recent article in the guardian on the burgeoning popularity of ping-pong (table tennis, if you will) in parks and playgrounds--London has installed 47 new tables and the Ping London initiative will place 20 tables in Trafalgar Square in July, and 95 more in high traffic areas like the Tate Modern and Heathrow Airport, a unique way to add playability to these spaces.  And that's not to mention the tables Jean Nouvel has installed as part of his red sun-box of a pavilion installation at the Serpentine gallery (you can just see them at the edge of the below image).



I often see concrete tables in parks around continental Europe and rows of them in Asia, but rarely find them in American play spaces, though they're an obvious way to add interest for ages tweens and up, and something for parents accompanying their kids to do beyond sitting on a bench. 

A new company, Henge, has started providing a beautifully sculptural version (below) to the US market.



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