TREK 2013: Netherlands – Inspired Playscapes

Initiative
To visit and conduct a detailed examination of several highly-inventive and visually stimulating playgrounds located across the Dutch Landscape.

Playground spaces of interest will exhibit:
• Environments which compel imaginative play
• Memorable patterns of geometry and color
• Innovative use of materials
• Extraordinary forms of play equipment
• Creative integration of play components
• Settings conducive to social interaction
• Refinement in detail
• Sculpture elements as integral to the play experience

Points of Study
• Behavior of children while using playgrounds
• Popularity of specific playground elements
• Relationship of project to its urban/sub-urban context
• Durability & physical performance of materials
• Feedback from local park users

Benefit
To experience these spaces physically and to see how they are built, maintained, loved, and/or hated will inform and help to complete the inspiration we all gain from studying playgrounds of this nature through photographs, books, and blogs.

Muse
The constructed projects created by CARVE, an Amsterdam-based design firm with an extensive portfolio of built work in the area will be of special focus. With architects, landscape architects, product designers, engineers, research, safety, and policy specialists working under the same roof, CARVE focuses on the planning and development of public space, particularly for use by children and young people.