04.12.2012 - Ausgabe: 6/2012

Play and communication areas for different requirements

By Guido Felthöfer, Conservation and Parks department, Neukölln borough district office of Berlin

The development plan has been in place since the 1960s, but the realisation of this plan has taken several decades as a result of the necessary acquisition of plots of land, among other issues.

Various residents’ participation procedures, in particular with children and youths, formed the basis for a diverse mixed-use offering, and helped establish a high degree of identification with the project. Furthermore, the play and communication areas for the different requirements have been created in close collaboration between the residents, clubs, artists, owners of neighbouring buildings, administrative bodies and additional establishments. The playground between Schinkestraße and the Maybachufer acts as a green link to the bank of the Landwehr canal. The starting points to the streets form two small entrance areas that are also used as activity areas. They are joined by a path which is adorned with unique and formative play areas.

Concept description and criteria

The various protagonists introduced their wishes for the planning and construction process during the course of various campaigns and events, worked through issues, and co-operated in the realisation of the project. Children and youths, in particular, were instrumental in designing and realising the play elements, equipment and graffiti worked both on site and in various facilities. The collaboration with professionals in the participation – with artists and the conservation and parks department employees – ensured the overall creative quality and feasibility. There were many parties involved: The pupils from the Theodor-Storm Primary School, the Fusion Intercultural Projects Berlin e.V. youth club from Rütlistraße, Coopolis – a local network of property owners, the Potsdamer sculptor Matthias Schmidt, the town urban regeneration association BSG with the on-site office, as well as the intercultural cafe “Vielfalt” (meaning: Diversity). The residents in their configuration of nationalities, cultural backgrounds and age groups have worked together and devised their own areas in the playground and realised them accordingly. The open and clearly laid out playground enables both communication and interaction at the same time.

Equipment and the division of space

The deliberate variety of shapes, materials and colours characterises the playground. The predominantly free, round shapes of the apparatus and furniture complements the scenic design of the entire playground. The fun factor and visit value, as well as the care and maintenance responsibilities, are carried by the collaboration between the users and the parties concerned. The corresponding materials were selected based on the play and common areas as well as the respective function of the object. Play equipment made from wood is complemented by climbing walls and a mud table made of concrete, a bench with a ceramic mosaic design, as well as a pavilion and sculptural elements made of metal at the entrances.
The surface textures have likewise been designed to be extremely diverse. The fixed entrance areas are complemented through the use of mineral and natural stone cobbles flooring. The play area surfaces have a covering of play sand, safety surface material, artificial surface or turf depending on the type of use. The mix of old and new surfaces merge seamlessly.

The existing tree and wooded area comprises individual shrubs and green groupings that can be played upon. In view of ensuring a generous playing area and good visibility of all parts of the site, the decision was taken to forgo further planting. Instead of which the playground was shaped by a patch of grass in the centre.

The play and common areas blend into one another with no discernible dividing lines. Only in the entrance areas will you find low fences and far into the playground itself. These fences have been set in order to create activity areas for community events. Additional dividing objects and modelling were dispensed with as the alternating styles of the adjacent high building facades and open courtyards with different types of enclosures combine to contain the playground and give it a unique distinction.

The playground’s relationship with its surroundings

The new playground offers a simultaneous link between Schínkestrasse and the Maybachufer. On the opposite side of the road there is a promenade with a functional connection. The playground will also be used by visitors to the popular multi-cultural market that takes place twice a week on the Maybachufer.
The Maybachufer / Kottbusser Damm / Schinkestrasse block will be redefined by the playground. It will benefit from a pleasant break from the regular street space and, at the same time, the inner courtyard character will be reinforced by the playground.

Planning run

The playground at the Maybachufer with a football field and at the Schinkestrasse with sand play area formed the basis for the expansion and eventual conflating redesign. Initially, in 2008, during the course of a residents’ survey, the playground design and equipment wishes of the various residents’ groups were requested. 2009 and 2010 then saw the emergence of concrete joint action plans. After a joint financial review on site, the individual projects were agreed upon, planned and realised. This saw the creation of, for example, the water play area, the pavilion, climbing walls and different figures. On site the later (concrete) shapes, for example, were first sketched, and then models were formed using plaster and later cast in concrete. The metal animal sculptures at the entrance to the green zone were finished in the school / in the youth club. At the “finish” of the site, the Maybachufer 5 firewall was adorned with designs created within the framework of a graffiti workshop under the motto “Großstadt-Dschungel” (City Jungle), and was complemented by three-dimensional figures.

Winning second prize in the “SPIELRAUM-Preis 2011” (PLAY SPACE Prize 2011), which was run by “Stadt und Raum” trade journal in association with the GALK, shows – aside from the intensive use of the site itself – that the time-consuming planning and close collaboration with the various parties has paid off. Bringing in children and local youths and involving them as much as possible in the later stages and also during the practical execution of the plans creates a strong level of identification with the newly created public space. The top class prize jury saw the topic “play areas in cultural change” realised in a most exemplary manner.