Author: Pauline Pan Publish Time: 2023-12-08 Origin: Site
A children's modern outdoor playground is more than just a space for placing game equipment. It's a place where kids can explore, have fun, and engage in natural activities. To truly meet children's needs and encourage their play, landscape designers must approach playground design from the perspective of kids.
By understanding children's unique needs and preferences, designers can create works that truly satisfy their nature. Whether it's through age-appropriate equipment or a mix of mental and physical activities, designers can craft a playground that stimulates kids while keeping them safe.
Early Childhood (3-6 years old)
Childhood is a time when kids are bursting with energy and endless curiosity, making the playground a perfect place for them to explore their surroundings. When designing playgrounds for kids, it's essential to cater to their physical and intellectual needs. For children aged between 3-6 years old, complex and difficult games can be overwhelming and not suitable. Instead, designers can set up intellectual and physical outdoor playground toys that is age-appropriate, such as sandpits, seesaws, and slides.
Childhood (7-11 years old)
As children grow, they become more adventurous and curious, and this is the perfect time to introduce novel material facilities, mazes, and climbing frames as well as arrange stones and other materials for exploration.
Adolescence (12~15 years old)
Collective sports activities are essential for this age group, and incorporating popular science and humanities content can stimulate their interest in exploring the world. Designers can set up explanatory signs that introduce plants and animals, or science popularization facilities to encourage learning and exploration.
Safety Design
When choosing a location for a children's playground, safety should be the top priority. The playground should be situated far away from roads and busy public places with cluttered surroundings to prevent any visual blind spots or potential threats from vehicles and crime.
Moreover, designers must ensure that the playground equipment and venue layout are safe for children to use. The equipment should never have dangerous protrusions, squeeze points, or sharp edges that could pose a risk to children. There should also be no potential entanglement hazards for kids during their activities, including openings that could cause accidental injuries to their heads and fingers.
To ensure maximum safety, designers must pay close attention to the details of the playground design, including choosing appropriate materials, constructing equipment that is durable and sturdy, and regularly inspecting the playground to address any potential safety concerns.
Universal Design
When designing a playground for children, designers must consider the diverse needs of kids and their strong thirst for knowledge, curiosity, and energy that drives their exploration of the surrounding world. To create a fully functional playground, designers should integrate elements of fun, participation, diversity, and knowledge that can provide children with a relaxing and natural setting to play.
Designers must also cater to the different age groups' needs and preferences to ensure they provide the best possible experience for the children. For instance, playgrounds for children aged 3-6 should feature age-appropriate equipment that encourages exploration, physical activity and intellectual stimulation.
In addition, safety must also be a top consideration when creating playgrounds, ensuring that playground equipment doesn't pose any risks to children's safety. The use of durable and sturdy materials along with regular inspections can help to prevent accidents and ensure that the playground remains safe for children.
Design According to Local Conditions
When designing a natural outdoor playground, it's crucial to make optimal use of the site's resources, such as pools, hillsides, groves, and other landscapes. By adapting measures to the local conditions and using local materials, designers can create a playground that is in sync with the environment, preserving natural resources while providing a fun and engaging space for children.
The playground design should respect nature and avoid imposing artificial elements excessively. Instead, it should blend in with the natural environment, providing a harmonious and relaxing atmosphere for kids to play and explore.
Designers must keep sustainability in mind while creating the playground, ensuring that the materials used are eco-friendly and won't harm the environment. Making use of renewable resources and energy-efficient equipment can also contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the playground.
Scalability design
In landscape design, designers often consider the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste when creating their designs. When designing a children's playground, it's essential to pay particular attention to the height and range of children's sight so that the playground area and equipment can be easily seen and accessed.
By designing playground equipment that children can easily spot and access, designers can enhance the kids' interest in the venue and equipment. The choice of colors and materials is also significant as bright colors and interesting textures can catch the children's attention and stimulate their imagination.
In addition to visual elements, designers can also incorporate sounds and tactile textures to engage other senses and create a multi-sensory experience. The use of natural materials, such as wood and stone, can also help to create pleasant smells and tactile experiences for kids to enjoy.
Playground Equipment
To ensure children stay engaged and entertained, playgrounds must offer diverse and intriguing amusement equipment, as children are likely to become bored with monotonous options and crave variety. However, it is also crucial for these equipment to be sturdy and safe.
Safety is a vital consideration in all aspects of playground design, with the aim to foster children's physical fitness and spirit of adventure.
Most of the equipment is made of materials such as metal or wood, featuring smooth edges and corners, round ends, stable structures, and appropriately sized scales. A range of game equipment should be available for children to select from, with graded difficulty levels to cater to their age and abilities, providing a sequential challenge. It is also important to make sure the equipment can withstand occasional use by adults.
Plant
The design of plants in children's play areas is a significant element as it forms the main feature of the space. It is recommended that the green space of these areas should make up more than 70%.
Children are naturally curious about plants. Therefore, it is essential to install plants that are both decorative and interesting. Trees can be the primary source of sparse shade in the area, supplemented by shrubs. When selecting shrubs, it is important to choose thorn-free and non-toxic varieties.
Water Body, Sandy Land
Water features are typically designed in a natural style, featuring natural shorelines and embankments that provide an environment for children of all ages to develop their hands-on skills. To ensure the safety of children, the water should not be too deep, and different depths (ranging from 20cm to 50cm) should be set based on the child's age or height. Sand is another crucial element in children's play areas, enabling them to develop their shaping abilities and endurance, and is often combined with water features.
Topography
Changing terrains can create an exciting and engaging play environment that allows children to roll, swoop, slide, and hide. These terrains can be incorporated into the design by utilizing existing elevations changes in the ground or by creating artificial undulating changes. When there is a sudden change in slope, it can be used to create a slide, while flat ground can be utilized as a sports venue. The incorporation of natural terrain changes can add an extra level of adventure and thrill to the play area.
Color
The world of children is an incredibly vibrant and colorful place. Their lively and innocent nature drives them to express their inner understanding of the world in simple, yet colorful ways.
Rest Facilities
Resting areas such as booths, benches, or seats are typically located at the quieter edges of children's playgrounds. These facilities are designed to be relatively simple, lightweight, and cheerful, providing a space for both children and their caregivers to take a break.
