Carve - Redesigning The Playground |
Friday, 21 December 2007 |
Ask a child what their favorite subject is at school, and chances are
they’ll say recess. It’s the one time during the day when they are
almost absolutely free to make decisions for themselves – from who to
play with, what to play, and where to play. And as children grow, the
social dynamics of who can play where shifts and an age-based pecking
order ensues.
The Netherlands-based design team at Carve integrate
architectural expression into their playground design thereby
generating unique play experiences for children of all ages. Don’t let
the kids know, however that the Carve team strives to encourage a
cognitive process – even during free time. This new equipment and play
structures stimulate decision-making, group and continuous play (use of
the same equipment in varying way) encouraging children to climb, hang,
swing, skate, slide, run, jump, vault, hide.
One of Crave’s creation in particular, the wall-holla, has received
special notoriety as it was nominated for the Dutch Design Awards in
2006. Thirty children at once can climb, crawl, roll and maneuver
through the large fence-like structure. Older children are able to
scale the climbing wall or just relax and look out over the domain
they’ve waited countless years to control. By Andrew J Wiener.
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