Experiencing the schoolyard site as a dynamic setting was a key dimension of the winning solutions in the 13-acres competition. The lower mainland of British Columbia receives on average 200 mm of rainfall per year. This abundant waterfall is typically captured at the surface and then piped underground where it is discharged at locations remote […]
Category: Children’s Spaces
Healthy competition
In the spring of 2000, I received funding from the Hampton Foundation, the University of British Columbia’s James Taylor Chair, and the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia to study how the schoolyard could serve as a community resource. This research resulted in orchestrating the 13-acres international design competition. This competition involved the design of […]
Zoom out
The Los Altos School District, located south of San Francisco in Northwest Santa Clara County, has one of the highest ranked Academic Performance Index (API) records and the highest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores in the state of California. With a population of 3950 students and an anticipated population that will exceed 4500 students by […]
Think big, act small
It is precisely these questions that we sought to answer in the Yard to Garden intervention project at the Child Development Laboratory at Iowa State University. This project involved child development specialists from the laboratory who collaborated with me to design landscape situations that would fulfil specific developmental milestones of the children (two to six […]
Think of the yard as a landscape
The following sections describe five projects that I have been involved with that concern landscapescreated for children at childcare centres and schools. Each project is an experiment and a discovery for myself and the people involved in their own landscapes. What I describe here reflects only one perspective of the process required to create landscapes […]
The sustainable landscape
Susan Herrington Editor’s introduction In the spring of 2000, Susan Herrington received funding to study how the schoolyard could serve as a community resource. As part of her work as a landscape designer and as an academic deeply involved in developing theories of children’s environmental awareness, she decided to run an international competition to encourage […]
Negligence and getting risk in perspective
In startling contrast to the compensation culture referred to at the start of this chapter and from a superficial reading of the literature, it appears currently fashionable in Britain to underplay the potentially lethal or crippling aspects of risk in relation to children’s play space and a single statement can be taken as being indicative […]
The characteristics of accessible and inclusive play equipment
A very high priority in the design procedure should be that of seeking to anticipate and fully conform to the requirements of The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, fully implemented in October 2004. Unrestricted physical access is essential. In all areas of risk – which may arise from moving parts, swings, environmental hazards, unexpected obstacles, chain […]
Equipment and surfacing
Among the complaints relating to playground design and management is the fact that the play equipment industry seldom produces new or exciting variants on old ideas; the influence of the ‘compensation culture’ is also often blamed for this. This view does not bear close analysis. If there is an absence of originality in design and […]
Playground design
The first consideration must be that of meeting or exceeding the minimum statutory requirements relating to the provision of play space, first in regard to safety and suitability but then in relation to accessibility and the inclusion of all. The second is to consult potential users and their communities. Here it needs to be borne […]