bad and good playgrounds

This playground is in New Jersey and it's called "Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park." This is one of the best playgrounds I've seen in Jersey and it's fairly new. The equipment is awesome and there is such a fantasy feel to this place. I'm sure kids feel like they are in a whole new world when playing in here. At least that's how I would feel playing in playgrounds haha. The variety of activity seems like a great place to bring in different kids to interact and play games together.


Again this playground is in New Jersey where I am trying to focus on since my project takes place there. This playground also is one of the best and has this fantasy play land feel to it that I really appreciate. The area it is located in Monmouth County, which has a great diversity of people and it would be great to see all these people get together in a big communal space. There multiple parking spaces and it is close to the water, so great for summer time.












One of childhood playgrounds growing up was Duke Island Park in New Jersey. It is an amazing mix of ages and people from all boroughs. The park is very big so there is room for many activities such as playgrounds for kids, grills for cook outs, volleyball court, tennis court, open fields with soccer nets and a gorgeous trail to walk around the entire landscape. There are concerts that are put on the little stage they have in the middle of the park. Many local talent perform there and it is just a great time for families and friends to get together.






this is depressing and really absurd to have these be a community playground for little kids. These playgrounds are rusting, dangerous and empty. Having color and whimsy to playgrounds adds a huge part to a kids imagination and experience to playing in a playground with other kids. I feel that kids playing in a playground can feel like a big journey in a place unknown and meeting other kids to complete tasks with you. But if the park is dangerous and bare then what will that show kids?

Playgrounds

Good Playgrounds:

This design  is minimalist and at the same time would be interesting to climb from a child's point of view. 

I have a younger niece. She likes to climb on things. It would probably be entertaining for younger kids because climbing a variety of levels would probably be adventurous. 

How water is added to a classic equipment makes it more interesting visually and actively. 

Bad Playgrounds: 

 The sculpture is most likely questionable from parents' point of view. 

 The swing is unstable and most likely hazardous. The sculptures also are kind of creepy. 

Generally unappealing. I know there are some kids that love the dirt. I was the one that didn't so it doesn't really appeal to a general audience.

playgrounds

This playground in Germany is just the type of place I would have liked to play as a kid. I love the dreamy atmosphere, it's really like being in a different world.

This playground in Spain (the link is to a video) is extremely interactive, and fun for all ages. Everyone has to work together to make the tightrope contraption move back and forth, and the other eqiupment also requires group effort. The slide also looks really fun.

This London playground is just really aesthetically pleasing. I like the shiny odd round shapes, and I think that kids would too. This is a pretty traditional climbing playground, but its look makes it extra attractive.

Now, for the ones I don't like:

This playground in Vancouver is good for teaching kids about plants and being green, I guess (there is a compost for the kids snacks), but it doesn't look like much fun. After a couple minutes of jumping from log to log (and maybe falling), I would be out of here.

I guess this school "playground"is meant to spark the kids' imaginations, so that they can make up new games based on the lines on the ground. But can you imagine getting out at recess, just wanting to play, and having to make up a new game based on some lines? And there's not even anything to climb on.

Are you kidding me with this? This jumping girl looks like she's going to hurt herself. That kid with the red ball is just staring at his ball because he's so bored by the equipment.

Best/Worst Playgrounds

Adventure Playground opened in Berkeley California in 1979. It's an outdoor play structure with a multitude of structures to climb and play on. What I find more interesting about this set in particular is the encouragement for a different kind of child creativity, where children are actually able to build and construct different things from their imagination, using a variety of tools and materials found on the grounds themselves - a realization that the designer came to when he saw children playing in the dirt and rubble of post-WWII battle zones. Ultimately, it allows children to imagine and construct their own environments - something which I am looking to do with my own playground design.



The Alexander W. Kemp Playground is another playground that is designed to promote creativity and collaboration. Again containing a multitude of structures to climb and play on, this area also provides children with a number of different other creative materials - such as sand and water. I read a parent comment on the site that spoke about how her child had gotten involved with 10 other children in a project to build a dam for one of the water obstacles on the site - the exact kind of thing that I am trying to promote in my own playground.



The Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park in Japan is a massive play space with both indoor and outdoor play structures. It utilizes a number of different elements in the geography of the landscape - including a huge trampoline built into a hillside, while dividing itself into six distinctive zones, each with its own unique atmosphere. In winter, the outdoor areas become converted into "Takino Snow World," which provides a number of winter-time activities for visitors to the park.

Evidently it's a bit harder to find detailed information on bad playground design, but here we go...


Somehow I think this design is a little self-explanatory as to why it is a bad playground design.


As an architecture student, some designs just speak for themselves. This set in particular might get a chuckle out of small children, and a very confused look out of parents, while not necessarily promoting any of the development attributes that a good playground should be promoting - creativity, physical development, etc.


A very depressing playground - a small, fenced in area with a single roundabout for the children and a bench for adults. One of the things I'm quickly learning about playground photography is that playgrounds tend to look a lot more fun when you have kids playing on them, as all good playgrounds do. I'm curious as to whether or not a really crappy playground like this could be made to look fun if a bunch of kids were added into the picture doing various creative activities.

Good and Bad Playgrounds

Good Playgrounds:

1.

This playground is interesting because not only does it mimic a whale in shape, but utilizes both the interior and exterior of the structure. Also, it is relatively simple and does not take up that much space, yet seems to have a wide variety of obstacles.

2. This playground in Paris utilizes the slope of the park as an element for play. This playground is essentially a climbing course, but there are different levels of difficulty so it is suitable for a wide spectrum of ages.

3.
This playground is cool because of its surreal looks and interesting course. Children climb from house to house through rope tunnels, and get down through slides and ladders. It looks right out of Dr. Suess, and has a great design.

Bad Playgrounds:

1. Doesn't this look like a fun horse to ride? Basically a concrete pipe with a head and an oddly shaped tail. I couldn't imagine a single way for a child to have fun on this thing.

2. This playground is great for climbing stairs to nothing, or maybe swinging on that wooden beam. Looks like an excellent play to get tetanus and some splinters.

3.

These structures look not only boring but dangerous. I guess monkey bars are an acceptable element to include in a playground design, but only monkey bars? These dont even count as monkey bars, they're just warped ladders. The blue one looks like it's trying to make a child fall on its head.

Playgrounds

A. This Playground looks really interesting. It’s so simple with the materials, but it looks like all the kids are having fun with each other and the “equipment”.

B This Playground is also simple but looks like a lot of fun. Not just for kids but probably teenagers too.

C The idea with this playground reminds me of a puzzle. It’s awesome and if a kid can’t find their way out, they’re going to need to ask for help from another child that’s stuck in there with them.

D. This playground is just boring. It doesn’t really have anything special. A pile of tires isn’t enough to attract kids.

E. I’m sure if that’s all the park consisted of, than no child would want to play on a mountain of tires.

F. This playground actually looks dangerous. The net in the back looks like fun, but if someone were to fall, they would hit a lot of things on there way down.

Bad and Good Playgrounds

Bad Playgrounds:

1. This is a temporary playground but still pretty horrifying. The black tube would become incredibly hot inside and is very flexible making it difficult to move through and creating a terrifying experience. That goes all without saying that it's held up by bails of hay, very stable.

2. This is an old wind turbine that was recycled into a playground. Great idea but is lacking actually interaction. I've worked as a camp counselor for the past two summers and this playground would have driven the kids I worked with and me insane. First they would have nothing to do on it besides climb to the top and jump off, making my job of keeping them safe ten times more difficult and resulting in bored children. Not to mention that there would have to be at least two people watching the children at all times, even if you were only required to watch one child at a time, you would contenting be forced to follow them around just to see where they are, which is way to much work. 

3. Playgrounds like this are the worst! I hated them when I was a child and I hated them even more as a counselor. The wood chips that cover the ground get in your shoes, the kids fall on them and get covered in it, as well as getting countless tiny cuts. There are so many hiding places for kids and it's impossible to see the entire playground or even a tiny section of the playground all at once. The bars that protect the kids from jumping off the side end up making it impossible to see anything that is happening on the playground from below, which is not good when you want to take 30 kids to a playground so you can sit and just watch them play.

Good Playgrounds:

1. This I love! There is complete visibility  kids have to interact because there is only so much space and they are forced to see each other. It becomes a challenge for them to get across, the kids that know how to do it teach the others, it's instant bonding. I've seen it with the kids I work with, it's great. 

 

2. Kids love to climb on things! Something that is safe for them to climb on and they can work together to do it, is great! Plus they think they are getting away with doing something they aren't supposed to do, like climb on rocks and they bond over it. 

3. This is just really cool. The only problem I have is that you'd have to stay with your child to see them play but most people in New York do that anyway.