17.10.2012 - Ausgabe: 5/2012

Worlds of Exercise

By Andreas Kittner, freelance landscape architect Dipl.-Ing. (FH)

The sport-oriented primary school “Am Botanischen Garten” is situated in Frankfurt (Oder), in the north-west district of Hansa Nord. This district is defined by the existing sports facilities in the area. Within the framework of the urban redevelopment, the intention is to transform the area into a unified sports complex. The school’s proximity to the sports centre and the Olympic training centre creates the right conditions for the development of a continuous system of promoting exercise and a sporty lifestyle. The schoolyard has been designed to meet the requirements of the children, on the one hand, but, on the other hand, it aligns itself with the educational goals and the concept of a “sport-oriented school”. The versatility of exercise is the focal point, rather than the teaching of specific sports.

The previous schoolyard surface was at ground level and was defined by concrete, asphalt and the perpendicularity of the surrounding slopes. There were very few opportunities to exercise, play and relax. The goal of the planning process was to create attractive options for children, not just during school break times, but also for the afterschool club and youth club based there, and also for the entire residential area. The schoolyard is always accessible to the public and represents a central point in the residential estate. The existing slopes and the flight of stairs, formerly an assembly point, were integrated into the overall concept.

The planning concept “BeWegte Welten” serves as a guiding principle for the design of the school grounds. Children should be given opportunities to exercise through play on both horizontal and vertical planes. The theme “exercise” suggests direct and indirect ways for the children to orient themselves in the grounds of the play area. Children should search out and conquer their own play trails. Various paths with different designs, qualities and surface textures respectively, present additional challenges for the children.

The nearby Olympic training centre reflects the planning concept with its eye-catching red running track. The regularity of the original elliptical shape has been changed. A curved circuit with various turns and radii is the unifying element between the play area, the bordering slopes and the fixed surfaces. This forms the route along which additional play paths join on. The curved circuit breaks up the existing severe edges of the slopes, changing them and incorporating them into the play area. The path itself is suitable for various games on foot or by bike, skates, etc.

Inside the path

On the inside of the path is a landscape of hills to play on. These create an optical transition from the flat schoolyard surface on a neighbouring embankment. This enables children to see the entire play area from various perspectives. As a result of the path and hills’ curved shapes, a direct line of sight is only available at certain points, creating alcoves. The slopes, which vary in terms of steepness, offer a constantly changing degree of difficulty when attempting to scale them. The plantation of a plot of Willow trees has been planned for the particularly steep slopes with the plantation to be proportional to the curved shape of the slope. The hilly play landscape functions as an oversized climbing and balancing object. In addition to this, the children will also have other climbing opportunities and trails to choose from.
The western play hill can be scaled using hanging nets that lead up to an elevated vantage point. The entire play area can be viewed from this point. The play route continues on to a jungle bridge, which acts as a linking element to another hill. A rope leading down can be used to leave the hill again.
A balancing course leads up to the eastern play hill. This balancing course comprises a selection of platforms with varying surfaces, degrees of steepness and height. As a result of the arrangement of bumpy surfaces alternating with flat, level surfaces, every platform requires a slightly different posture.
A seating arrangement made from tree stumps joins onto the route and offers the opportunity to rest.
On top off all this, there are boulders integrated into the slope that act as additional climbing aids during the ascent.

The hilly landscape

In the valley of the hilly landscape, the forest of poles is the dominating play feature. Naturally grown Robinia round logs of differing heights stretch high above the hills, creating a play forest. The poles are arranged in a perpendicular grid in order to create a link to the building architecture of the school. This gives the forest of poles a labyrinthine character. The removal of some of the logs creates different gaps between each log. The Robinia logs are bound among one another by different balancing and climbing features. The children are led through the forest of poles by a succession of features at different heights such as inclined balancing beams and platforms, and balancing ropes that lead to a balancing bridge with seating options. Further on, there are rotating beams, balancing discs and finally a balancing combination. The forest of poles is the centre of the play area grounds.

Due to the fact that the existing slopes were used in the play-exercise area, it was necessary to erect two supporting walls alongside the circuit. These walls also double up as climbing walls. The path is widened in this area and is clearly defined by a yellow, artificial surface. The wall is made from different sizes of concrete blocks with a naturally split, raw surface. Setting some stones further back while bringing others forward creates the climbing aids. Special emphasis should be placed on encouraging climbing along a horizontal plane for longer distances. By doing this, the children can follow the main path all the way around without touching the ground.

The “Green Classroom” is to be found in the embankment area. The pre-existing flight of stairs serves as a type of platform for different events and was equipped with seats made from concrete. Furthermore, it can be utilised by children who want to retire to a quieter area and talk undisturbed or perhaps simply watch the others playing.

Various floor coverings were used in the school grounds in order to offer the children a wider range of tactile foot experiences. The circuit path is made from a synthetic material and offers a soft, elastic floor covering under foot. The grass and wood chip surfaces are, by contrast, soft and coarse and likewise offer a contrast to the flat surface texture of the paved surfaces.

The entire play area was designed as a close-to-nature site and is adorned with natural features (such as boulders, play hills, tunnels) as well as traditional play equipment. During the selection and arrangement of the individual features, the goal is not the creation of a chain of features or even a play combination; rather, it is to offer practical play and exercise processes. At the same time, the features in use have a sporty identity so that they can be integrated into physical education lessons. Play equipment that incite children to climb, balance, clamber and run were predominantly chosen.

The available financial resources were insufficient, meaning that in 2010 only the first stage of construction, the play and exercise area in the northern part of the school grounds, could be realised. Thanks to the support of the IB (Internationaler Bund e.V Förder- und Integrationszentrum) [International Federation registered society – Centre for support and integration], which also sponsors the youth club, sponsorship was provided which was used towards the renovation of the stairs into a “Green Classroom”.