Planning Playscapes!

Creating challenging landscapes goes beyond installing 'pieces'. It's essential that a site survey is first carried out, so that any obstacles can be worked around and 'problems' considered. Every site has its own unique characteristics, and these must dictate the design. I would always recommend that all ideas start with the users, it needs to be their area if they are to appreciate and enjoy it! So in play-area planning, always talk to your children first...what do they want? Even young children can express ideas, they may not always be verbal, but if you watch children playing, you'll begin to notice that different children do follow different play routines. Even little babies will show preferences, some love crawling through sand, whereas others will become traumatised as soon as the stuff touches their hands!

Then chat with adults, list their ideals, but beware, quite often people will have a fixed ideal space in their heads and this is often based on their own experiences of outdoor play! For many adults in England, this just means  a park playground; concrete spaces with metal swings, slides and climbing frames. A space that builds some physical skills, but little else and certainly not a place that is aesthetically pleasing, or that feeds the soul!

So if you take a stepped approach:

1. Survey the site - be methodical, you need to measure and map it out FULLY to scale, including all natural and man-made features. Make sure you get the angles and scale correct. Ask yourself important question, such as where is the drainage? What EXACTLY is under that surface? Where are the utility pipes, grids, drainage pipes? What are the options?

2. Talk to the children and collect their ideas

3. Talk to the adults, what do they need from the space?

Then you'll have the basics to start a design and this is where the hard work starts! Planning is the biggest job in any project, especially if you want to make sure it is both challenging AND developmentally appropriate. You need to know your legislation - what are the recommendations for the DDA? What about critical fall heights? Recommendations on spaces between boards and posts to avoid finger traps? It's no good landscaping and installing a piece of equipment, to then find out it breaches safety standards or isn't in line with recommendations! You'd be surprised how many catalogue pieces from large, reputable manufacturers actually do this! Scary actually!

images from an Appleyard Designed and installed Early Years play area in Lancashire