Photo Credit: Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
While growing up, my personal experience of playground fun was swaying on tall swings that took me up towards the sky. Then my friends and I would race to the huge metal slide for even more fun! Every day after school we would run to this special place: we could be independent, make our own rules, play pretend games, make new friends, or see old ones—it was a real social meeting place.
Indoor Vs. Outdoor
Well, in the intervening years I have certainly seen a change in how kids play. Due to their fascination with the electronic world, it seems that kids have become unengaged with playing outside. They don’t have to imagine their play space or make up adventures anymore because most of their fun has already been created for them within electronic games and wonderful 3-D animation. As a result, landscape architects and design professionals are challenged with the task of getting kids outdoors to “play more.” To accomplish this, traditional playgrounds have to be renovated and updated to show off new equipment. Kids need a creative play environment similar to the excitement found in electronic gaming systems; kids need interaction and the challenge of the unknown. A designer must create a play space that is unique, fun, and imaginative. These architects and designers have to re-live their own childhood experiences when designing creative play spaces and custom-designing play equipment.
A Place In Which To Play
Today, most playground companies have their own graphics sections where play equipment can be custom-designed. However, the landscape architect is responsible for creating a playground space that is exciting and unpredictable, just like that in the kids’ electronic games. The Landscape Architecture Section of the Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission has been creating custom playgrounds since 2008. The seven landscape architects have had fun designing imaginative playground spaces for Prince George County citizens, and letting our personal “childhood” experiences guide us. The parks and recreation department’s slogan is “Live More, Play More.” In order to accomplish this, we have had to be thrifty with funding sources and create fun play spaces within budget and schedule demands. By thinking “outside the box,” we have brought a “Disney”-type of fun to our playgrounds. Twenty “imagination playgrounds” have already been created, and six more are under design or construction. Our community residents are having fun on these playgrounds, and the kids are now getting outside to play!