“Every great city has a great park,” according to Lisa Switkin, a lead designer of the new Woodland Discovery Playground as well as High Street Park in New York City. And every great park needs a great playground. On April 8, 2011, Shelby Farms Park in Memphis officially opened one of the most innovative and sustainable playgrounds in the country.
Designing a Playground Like a Kid
When field operations, developer of the Shelby Farms Park master plan, began to design the playground, they decided to consult the experts: kids. They invited children of varying ages to the site for a planning charette that consisted of an exploration of the area, a reflection on what was most interesting, and model-building (using recycled materials) to give shape to the playground of their dreams. Many of the children’s ideas have inspired the design - most significantly, their desire to be surrounded by nature.
To promote a sense of size and discovery, the Woodland Playground’s defining feature is a sinuous tunnel-like arbor that will be covered in flowering vines and trees. The arbor curves around six distinct play areas or “nests.” A lawn will serve for tag, games and events. A sand, water and slide area is aimed at the youngest. A "bowl-like" zone features climbing and slopes of all kinds. An outdoor classroom curves around the trunk of a shade-giving tree. A frenetic swing and spin area is always busy. A series of treehouses are accessible only by climbing up ladders or ropes.
Large openings in the arbor allow children to discover each area independently while allowing parents long sight lines from one nest to another. Design considerations are important, but the ultimate test of a playground is how well the kids like it.
What do Memphis Kids Think of the Playground?
“Arrrgh!” exclaimed a boy climbing the ropes toward the treehouse the day of the opening. To this young buccaneer the structure had obviously transformed into a pirate ship with rigging.
“Here, help me plug it up here!” called a young child to four others, as they industriously worked to dam up the spillways on a shallow basin constantly filling with water. Once the bowl filled, they gleefully demolished their sand berms and began again.
“Woo-hooo!” yelled a gray-haired grandma as she swooped down the curved tunnel slide and landed in the soft sand.
Perhaps the most popular area is filled with exotic new structures. Queen swings - popular in Europe but the first in America - ride like a cross between an air pogo and a traditional swing. Two counter-balanced queen swings create a teeter-totter of sorts, with the same dizzying height, mixed with a bit of spin, but fewer concerns about spine-crushing crashes to the ground.
The woven nest swing, which can cradle two to three children at a time, is also a first for an American playground. The nest swing lends itself to cooperative play, with children taking turns riding and pushing, since it is difficult to self-power. Cries of “push me, push me” rang out at regular intervals.
Green Design for a Leafy Park
With 40% of construction materials locally sourced, and 30% from recycled sources, the newest addition to Shelby Farms Park is as green as the leafy trees that shade it. The comfy lawn chairs sprinkled liberally throughout the park - in adult and child sizes - are made from recycled water jugs. The springy, permeable safety surfaces are made from recycled sneakers. The plastic “mulch” that protects the roots of mature trees is made from recycled army boots.
Even more important from an ecological perspective, the landscaping relies on native plants. Landscaping has increased the habitat diversity on site while also serving as a test area for methods to control invasive privet, the scourge of forests throughout the Mid-South. Designers have also paid great attention to the water cycle. Play surface materials allow rainfall to percolate into the soil, and drip irrigation systems conserve water.
In fact, the Shelby Farms Park Woodland Discovery Playground will be one of the very first sites nationwide to meet the benchmarks established under the “Sustainable SITES” program. This program, which finalized its guidelines in 2009, aims to do for landscape design what LEED has done for architectural design: set goals and give varying levels of recognition for projects that voluntarily support ecosystem services, or nature’s benefits.
Children as well as adults visiting the playground will have an opportunity to learn about its sustainability features by reading the interpretive signs. But they will learn the most when they simply experience its child-inspired features.
Join the Conversation