“The multigenerational playground that was created last year behind the Dr.-Stammburger-Halle in the green belt area has proved very popular,” reports Henry Schramm, the Mayor of Kulmbach.
Groups of senior citizens are often to be seen using the equipment, particularly in the early morning; while the exercise path and the balancing equipment are frequently also used by younger children. It is apparent that the promoters of the playground have achieved their aim of creating a meeting place for people from all generations, where they can communicate and interact. At the same time, the new playground represents a valuable addition to the park facilities, so that Kulmbach is justified in seeing its original concept and selection of equipment as vindicated.
The main objective was to create as harmonious a design for the green space as possible to promote the ‘wellbeing’ factor. The outcome is a transformation of what was a “relatively unattractive corner” of the park through the judicious use of plants and shrubs into a venue where young and old can meet. Not only has the number of visitors to this site increased, but the fact that it is being used so intensively and has become so appealing means that there is far less risk of vandalism.
Jürgen Ganzleben, of Kulmbach’s Park and Open Spaces Authority, describes first impressions: “The whole playground area is being very extensively used by visitors. Vandals seem to have avoided the area to date. The park facilities are popular with families and the inhabitants of the neighbouring retirement home are happy to be able to spend time in ‘their playground’ and the rose garden. Thanks to the successful integration of the playground in the rose garden, which is currently in full bloom, we now have a wonderful oasis offering peace and relaxation that is used by people from all tiers of the local population at all times of day. Groups of senior citizens can be seen using the training equipment, particularly early in the morning, while the exercise path and the associated balancing equipment are also popular with younger children. The new facility represents a very positive addition to the park as a whole and vindicates the original planning concept and choice of equipment.”
It is not just by chance that the playground has proved to be so well-liked. It is in the ideal location, close to the existing children’s playground and in the immediate vicinity of the ‘Mainpark’ retirement home.
When selecting the equipment to install, the planners and designers proved to have foresight and the right touch by choosing special equipment that could also be safely used by the elderly. They deliberately avoided the more demanding fitness equipment and procured an exercise path designed by Lappset that has equipment suitable for both young and old. There is a multigenerational swing next to the exercise path, various exercise devices intended to help train and maintain the sense of balance, a hip and mobility trainer made of stainless steel that can even be used by the disabled - all these provide for fun and an atmosphere of wellbeing.
“In the industrialised nations, the proportion of the population that is over the age of 65 years is growing rapidly. Some 37% of those aged over 75 years live alone. Your need for exercise and contact with others doesn’t dwindle simply because you’ve survived to a more advanced age. If we want to ensure that our citizens enjoy a better quality of life for a longer period of time, we must provide facilities that help keep body and mind fit and make sure that there is adequate contact between individuals. Irrespective of how old you are, the simplest form of exercise can be found in play - specifically in playing together with others”, argues Oliver Lange, of Kulmbach’s Press Office/Public Relations Department.
The multigenerational playground has even contributed towards the visual appeal of the town. To provide variation, there are flowering shrubs planted among the beds of roses and architectural elements have been positioned here and there, such as rose arches along the path to the retirement home and pyramids of roses in the circular flowerbed near to the playground, while there is one bed with groundcover roses to ring the changes. The wild vegetation and the unkempt borders that used to run alongside the fence of the retirement home have been replaced by well-spread plantings of perennial flowering shrubs. More bench seats have been installed to provide additional relaxation zones and a disabled ramp has been constructed to create access to the bank of the nearly River Main. The existing tree population has been retained, thus preserving the original character of the small park. An aviary has also been built as a further attraction.
It cost nearly €40,000 to construct the amenity. It is thanks to a donation made by the local Adelbert Raps Foundation that the work was able to move from the planning to implementation stage so rapidly.
Several wishes of Mayor Henry Schramm, the project’s initiator, have been fulfilled with the creation of the multigenerational playground. What was a “relatively unattractive corner” of the park has been converted into a “meeting place for young and old.” The wellbeing factor has been significantly enhanced, as the increase in the number of visitors to the site demonstrates. Thanks to the appropriate way in which the playground has been integrated into the rose garden that is currently in full bloom, there is now an oasis of peace and relaxation that is popular with locals from all walks of life at all times of day.
Schramm also considers that his concept of a multigenerational playground has further proved its worth by promoting social skills among the local population. “When the various generations play and exercise side-by-side, communication between them is facilitated and the community spirit is strengthened.” For him, the multigenerational playground symbolises an outlook whereby the demographic changes occurring in our society need not be interpreted as a problem, but as an opportunity and as a challenge.
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