Project Feature
A Place for Play, Artistic Expression and Community in Savannah
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0099.JPG Community-Led Change The term “creative placemaking” might not be part of most people’s everyday vocabulary, but for Erin Wessling, it is an essential component of her work. Erin serves as the founder and creative director of W Projects in Savannah, GA., a full-service marketing agency that also specializes and…
Montreal’s Parc St. Joseph Inspires Play for All Ages
default Valérie Bouré, a landscape architect for the city of Montreal and part of the three-person team behind the design of Parc St. Joseph, is riding high from two recent awards. The space (which features Goric’s dynamic playground equipment) has been recognized for its accessible, inclusive design and also won an…
Minnesotans Love Their New Zip Line Park
Baker Park
Photo courtesy Damon Farber When Minnesota’s Three Rivers Park District sketched out the plan for updating an aging playground, there was no question it would include a zip line. 600 kids and their parents made that clear when they were asked for suggestions. Describing the old zip line as a “beloved element of the…
The Griff Slides of Erie: Fast, Curvy and Transformational
LEAF Double slide with waves Even before their official dedication last month, the Griff slides of Erie, Pennsylvania had taken on almost mythic proportions. “This is just huge for the Erie community,” said landscape architect Alex Luddy. “That’s shown by all the community involvement we had.” From a gleam in the eye of Erie developer…
An All-Abilities Park Opens In Wisconsin
“Everybody has the right to play.” It says that in large letters right on the wall at the entrance to Trane All-Abilities Park. It’s a declaration that the people of La Crosse, Wisconsin made real this summer when the 2-acre park, 10 years in the making, was dedicated. Across seven…
Goric’s Towering Pyramid Gives Garvies Point a Signature Playground
Arising on the banks of Long Island’s Hempstead Bay, upon what once was an industrial wasteland, is a new neighborhood. Strung along an inlet and linked by a waterfront promenade, the shops, restaurants and play areas of Garvies Point have already become a popular destination for the residents of Glen…
Jump Into Our Wormhole Slide at Area 15
100 miles from Nevada’s mysterious Area 51 is the mystifying Area 15 of Las Vegas. Inside an almost ordinary building of warehouse proportions is a supermarket like no other in the world. At first look, it’s a perfectly normal market, if more colorful and cleanly stocked than where you shop….
Curvy Blocks Unite Young and Old
In February, we profiled Coryn Kempster and Julia Jamrozik, founders of an emerging multidisciplinary architecture practice whose arresting play structures reconsider the form and context of traditional playground elements. Winners of the League Prize of the Architectural League of New York in 2018, the inventive duo designed a circular swingset…
Outdoor Water Laboratories Gaining Ground
When you think of a water playground, your mind might conjure images of a splash pad. Fountains spraying jets of water. Children running past open-mouthed animals or cartoon characters, laughing and shrieking as they get soaked. And, indeed, this is one version of water play—and not a bad way for…
Ben & Jerry’s Factory Playground Embraces Old and New
The quirky, bohemian vibe of the Ben & Jerry’s brand, and the pastoral location of the company’s main factory on a 48-acre Waterbury, Vermont property in the shadows of the Worcester Mountain Range, are the stuff of dreams for a playground designer. Nearly two decades ago, Jonathan Henke, a former…
How an Office Slide is Adding Fun and Excitement at a Cybersecurity Firm
If you’ve ever worked in a dreary office, you know the feeling of being uninspired. The route from the front door to your desk feels sterile and rehearsed. The carpet looks the same. Your cubicle looks the same. Your neighboring co-worker has a new pair of shoes, maybe a new…
How a Parkour Course Revived an Aging Playground
Sometimes the best playground designs result from tight constraints. Six years ago, students and staff at Amigos School, a pre-K-8 Spanish and English immersion school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, moved into a new home. The former administrative building at 15 Upton Street had good bones and the size to accommodate more…
