Case Study: Smart playground design

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Client: Birchview Elementary School, Plymouth, Minn.

Designers: Tory Roff and Tom Keller, concept designers at Landscape Structures

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Goal: Create a modern design aesthetic on the playground to match the recently updated school building

Solution: Birchview Elementary School’s Principal Sam Fredrickson chose to install the Smart Play®: Venti® playstructure because of its modern aesthetic and the fact that it would accommodate an entire classroom. Smart Play: Venti packs 20 activities—from nets and slides to belts and climbers—into its design, and its compact size requires less space and surfacing material than typical playgrounds. Even more, the playground is designed using a smart use of materials, and provides challenges that promote physical development and strategic thinking among students.

Read more about how Birchview Elementary School brought play and design into the 21st Century with the installation of their new school playground equipment.

Make Your Mark with Playground Design

Whether realized or not, the design of our surrounding environment influences how we engage, learn and develop. A playground is a social space, and every child is different. That’s why we design playgrounds that honor each child’s pathway, while offering fun and exciting new challenges.

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It’s possible to create unique playground designs at an affordable price tag. Incorporate Smart Play®: Venti® along with freestanding play components like our Rhapsody™ Outdoor Musical Instruments to create a unique space with a variety of play experiences.

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Playgrounds come in all shapes, sizes and styles. You can bring a fantasy world to life by incorporating customized playground components into your design. Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro, Md., based its design on the story of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Or use custom playground design to celebrate the heritage of your community. The Wabun Picnic Area at Minnehaha Regional Park in Minneapolis, Minn., steps back in time with a thematic nod to its origins as an auto tourist camp.

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Bring children and families of all abilities together for play with an inclusive playground design. By keeping the needs of all users in mind during the design process, you can create a play environment like the Jonesboro Miracle League Park in Jonesboro, Ark., that increases access, safety, comfort and social participation.

Tom Sawyer Island at Amelia Earhart Park

The great outdoors is the number one spot where kids can play naturally—making up their own games while freely exploring the world around them. The playground on Tom Sawyer Island at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, Fla., helps promote outdoor adventure with its recycled wood-grain panels, woodsy color scheme, and nature-inspired climbers that mimic rocks, mushrooms and logs.

Learn more about how you can #MakeYourMark in playground design by viewing our infographic, then contact your local playground consultant to get started on your next playground project.

Dynamic nets win Best Visual Appeal in Boston

Last weekend, we were in Boston, Mass., to participate in the 2013 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Annual Meeting & Expo. The theme of our booth this year was “We believe parks make communities great,” and it featured our newest playground innovation, GeoNetrix.

We believe parks make communities great!

Visitors to our booth were able to get a first look at the iconic playstructure. The dynamic nets, contemporary towers and colored, translucent polycarbonate roofs of GeoNetrix enticed attendees to stop by for a play break and test the new playground innovation. Landscape architects were so captivated by the structure that they voted our booth Best Visual Appeal.

GeoNetrix offered ASLA attendees an opportunity to take a play break and test our new iconic playstructure.

In addition to our booth, we were proud to sponsor the Opening General Session speaker, Jack Dangermond, founder of Esri, who spoke about geodesign and the emerging GIS platform. We also sponsored the ASLA/Landscape Structures Gala at the Boston Children’s Museum, which offered hands-on activities, farm-to-table dining and dancing.

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We had a great time in Boston visiting with landscape architects, hearing from industry experts and taking in the nearby attractions. Our employees and playground consultants are already looking forward to 2014 ASLA in Denver, Colo.!

Create a true environment with matching site furnishings

When we collaborate with you to create a playground design, our goal is to help you create a complete play environment. One way we’re focusing on this is by offering three site furnishings collections that match our playground equipment as well as the surrounding landscape. Whether you’re focused on creating a modern, traditional or nature-inspired project, our site furnishings collections will help put the finishing touches on the play environment.

Designer Collection

The Designer Collection’s modern style and architectural details are the ideal complement to our Evos® and Weevos® playsystems. The Arches Bench, Bike Racks, and Recycling and Litter Receptacles will accentuate your contemporary playground design.

Vivid Collection

You can plan on pairing our classic PlayBooster®, PlayShaper® and PlaySense® playsystems with the Vivid Collection. The colorful Kaleidoscope Bench, and Recycling and Litter Receptacles, along with the Loop Rack and TenderTuff Picnic Tables and Benches will coordinate perfectly with traditional playgrounds.

Nature-Inspired Collection

Extend your nature-inspired playground environment with the distinctive Nature-Inspired Collection. The Log Bench, Acorn Seat, Leaf Bike Rack, Wood-Grain Bench and much more will help complete your play space and blend in harmoniously with the natural environment.

The three new collections add to Landscape Structures’ already extensive site furnishings offerings. Learn more about the new Designer, Vivid and Nature-Inspired Collections at playlsi.com. While there, check out our other site furnishings like CoolToppers® shade systems and Welcome signs.