Year: 2011
Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year!
Our Candy Park and Playground by Laura Every year I create a gingerbread village and this year I was inspired by the Conlastic playground equipment and decided to recreate some pieces with candy. The Conlastic PlayPoints are made from gum paste, marzipan, gum balls and edible metallic glitter dust. You will see…
Honoring Play Enthusiasts: The Fantastic Art Play of Isamu Noguchi
Recently I stumbled upon an article in the LA Landscape blog reviewing the Playa Vista Central Park. I noticed that they commented on the playground area designed by the Office of James Burnett as: “Contemporary play area recalls a Noguchi playground”. I admit that I wasn’t familiar with Noguchi so…
Designing Your Playground to Encourage Movement by JC Boushh
The modern playground provides children with numerous opportunities and developmental benefits. These benefits include social, emotional, physical, and cognitive opportunities that are related to providing children with play components to climb, slide, and various opportunities for varied forms of movement. As safety concerns grow, fear of litigation, and safety zones…
True Tree Houses
Over the years we have seen all kinds of play structure and some of the most creative and artistic have been found in Germany and throughout Europe. I’d like to share some pictures of really unique tree houses. I don’t foresee them on any North American public playgrounds any time…
Why do Playgrounds Get Boring?
There was a park and a small playground behind the house that I grew up in. It was a typical playground of the 60’s and 70’s: Swings, see saws, and a free-standing slide. I loved this playground; I spent endless hours swinging on the swings when the swings weren’t twisted…
Not Up to Playground Standards? My Confession as a Playground Aunt
According to ASTM 1487 & the CPSC, we have two age groups for playground standards: 2-5 and 5-12. In addition, they have recently introduced another standard for playground manufacturers for 6-23 month-olds. In short, the playground standards are based on anthropometric data (comparative sizes/measurements of children at age 2, 5 &12),…
Outdoor Table Tennis
Get out your ping-pong paddles (say that 5 times in a row!) and let’s play some table tennis! Perfect for all ages and a nice change to play this game outside. We are now offering these amazingly durable and attractive ping-pong tables. The table top is made of Polymer concrete…
Snowshoeing Through a Gorge – Inspiration for Water Play – By Laura
When I was a young child in kindergarten my class would walk down to the Credit River in Misissauga, Ontario, every Friday morning. We would walk along the river and sometimes collect leaves, pebbles, sticks or pinecones for craft projects. We learned about the natural world by exploring and experiencing the sounds…
Cool Slides – for Architecture, Art & Fun! Part 2
By popular demand, we are posting more slide installations from our very innovative slide manufacturer! MSU Zagreb (Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia), 2009 Height – 11.65m (45’10”); 2 Stainless steel tube slides with a clear top cover 28th São Paulo Art Biennial – Brazil, 2008 Slide height – 14m (55′);…
Cool Slides – for Architecture, Art & Fun!
Here are a few slide installations from our awesome slide manufacturer. This is really functional art! Biel Expo, Switzerland, Triple wave slide with polycarbonate covers Tate Modern Gallery, London (installed 2006), 5 Tube slides, stainless steel with polycarbonate covers PT Plaza Lifestyle Prima, Jakarta, Indonesia (installed 2008), Stainless steel slide with…
The Best Designed Slide: How to Create the Perfect Hill or Mound Slide
Important issues when designing a hill slide: 1. Adequate shading. All playground equipment needs shade. All materials get hot, even plastic! So make sure to design your area accordingly. 2. What material is appropriate for your requirements? Stainless steel, plastic (polyethylene) or corian? They all have pros and cons. 3. Slope of…
Pushing the Envelope of Playground Design with Risk & Challenge by JC Boushh
In today’s age of tech savvy children playground designers are constantly designing new and innovative play components to attract today’s wired-child to the playground. This approach to new and innovative designs many times comes into conflict with society’s preoccupation with over protecting children from life’s bumps and bruises. As children…
