Formerly a portion of a shopping mall parking lot, this creative playground provides plenty of exciting outdoor play for a pre-school and daycare. With high solar exposure, the challenge was to create an oasis of creativity, fun, and learning in a nurturing environment. An emphasis on bright colours and natural materials brings the play area to life. Variations in elevation were used to structure a series of outdoor “rooms” for three distinct age groups: infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.
Shade trees and abundant seating were incorporated into the naturalized planting beds and retaining wall areas. With veggie gardens in raised beds, a stage deck to provide space for an outdoor classroom (and facilitate role playing), boulder “islands,” low walls for safe climbing, a colourful stick “forest,” and a sensory wall with various elements for exploring touch, motion, and mechanics, this play area design offers tremendous play value for young children.
