Jeff Link
Designer Profile: Noa Haim and Collective Paper Aesthetics
The journey of Dutch designer Noa Haim into paper structure began in 2008 at the London Festival of Architecture, where she developed a participatory installation as part of her graduate work as an architecture student at the Berlage Institute. With the assistance of the FabLab Den Haag and volunteer teams…
Meet the Vertical Playground: The Wallholla
Verticality has been an architectural obsession since the time of the first skyscrapers in the late nineteenth century. But, at playgrounds, the idea of building lofty, multi-story structures on a small footprint is relatively young. Of course, with a higher percentage of the population dwelling in cities than ever before,…
Playgrounds of Culture and Place
Several weeks ago, we caught up with Angelica Rockquemore for a designer profile. Our conversation was illuminating and brought to light an emerging area of interest in the field: how parks and playspaces can serve to deepen cultural and environmental understanding and lay the foundation for the development of broader…
Playgrounds Spin into the Next Generation
Ever tried twirling on a playground spinner as an adult? Did it make your stomach turn? It’s not uncommon. When adults spin, the centrifugal motion can make them feel dizzy and uncomfortable, even sick. But spatial disorientation is good for our brain in appropriate doses, which is why sitting at…
Designer Profile: Native Hawaiian Angelica Rockquemore on the ASLA National Diversity Summit and Natural Learning Spaces
Angelica Rockquemore is a bit of a whiz kid. A landscape designer and planner at Honolulu-based HHF Planners, the Fulbright Fellow’s decorated education and professional career includes research and planning of Japanese gardens in Kyoto, design of outdoor play areas in Maori language immersion preschools, neighborhood concept development in Portland,…
2018 ASLA Diversity Summit Recruits New Voices
Landscape architecture is in need of more diversity. While professionals of color are designing outdoor spaces and green infrastructure responsive to their communities – from parks and playgrounds to campuses and residential properties – the demographics of the profession fail to reflect those of the wider population. As reported in…
Skating Rinks Are Breathing New Life into Parks
Which events you watch in the winter Olympics has a lot to do with where you live. A story published just last week in the New York Times chronicles these national preferences along with the possible cultural and social reasons behind them. In many parts of the world, including the…
4 Parenting Tips to Encourage Healthy Risk-Taking at Playgrounds
“Careful, you’ll fall!” Hearing another parent shout this or something similar to his child when she’s scrambling up a climbing frame can make bystanders stop in their tracks. This parent, though likely well-intentioned, may be undermining his child’s healthy sense of exploration and could even scare her into letting go…
Is Ping Pong Becoming the Coolest Sport in The Country?
Hipsters have had their hands in dozens of comeback business trends: vinyl records, food trucks, boxing clubs, boutique cupcakes, arcade bars. The latest, it seems, is table tennis. Given a major lift when actress Susan Sarandon opened the ping pong bar and venue SPiN in New York, the Olympic sport…
Designer Profile: Nathan Elliott, Principal at the Office of James Burnett on Persistence in Playground Design
Nathan Elliott didn’t always follow his creative instincts. The principal with the Office of James Burnett in Solana Beach, California, says he went into computer science at Louisiana State University on the model of his brother, but “flubbed out” of the weeder courses. His girlfriend was enrolled in LSU’s landscape…
The 7 Best Indoor Playgrounds to Beat the Winter Blues
When the temperature drops to single digits and below, as it did here in Chicago last week, the bite of winter can be too severe for children to play outside. For parents, that can mean struggling with cabin fever and restless kids. Fortunately, indoor play spaces are becoming more and…
10 Wonderful Last-Minute Holiday Gifts for Nature Lovers
Most of your holiday shopping is done, right? Or maybe it isn’t. At Goric, we’ve decided to devote this week’s blog to helping you find gifts for the nature lovers in your life. Here are ten terrific gift ideas to finish off your holiday shopping. Or, for some of you,…
