YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
It was in January 2009 at the International Green Week in Berlin that the German Green City foundation, ‘Die Grüne Stadt’, first presented their concept for a competition for ‘green’ playgrounds to German Minister of Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner and her Dutch counterpart, Gerda Verburg. The idea was taken up by the Federal Association of Playground and Recreational Equipment Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Spielplatzgeräte- und Freizeitanlagen-Hersteller e.V., BSFH), the trade journal Playground@Landscape and the Nuremberg Trade Fair for Urban Green and Open Spaces (GaLaBau). Ilse Aigner agreed to act as a patron.
Local authorities, planners, landscape architects, playground sponsors, citizens’ initiative organisations and other interested groups have been invited to submit their concepts for playgrounds in which green vegetation plays a central role. The first prize is worth €10,000. In her speech given at the launch of the competition, Ilse Aigner said. “I consider the idea of giving children the opportunity to experience and encounter the natural world through play something that is well worth supporting. This gives children who live in homes without gardens, in particular, the chance to grow up in a relationship with nature. I am sure that there will be considerable interest in the competition and that prototypes will be submitted that will serve as the basis for planners and builders to develop new ‘green playgrounds’.”
All those involved see the competition as a means of drawing the attention of citizens and authorities to the situation of public open spaces. The fact that insufficient funds are being invested in the upkeep of urban green amenities means that these are becoming increasingly uninviting and in the worst case scenario can even deteriorate to the point where the public tends to avoid them. For many, parks and playgrounds still represent locations where they can meet together with other people and communicate with them. The objective is to create a transregional awareness of the current circumstances and focus more interest on the actually existing play and recreational facilities.
The panel of judges for the ‘Green Playground’ competition met in the premises of the ‘Die Grüne Stadt’ foundation in Düsseldorf on 24 and 25 June 2010 to select the winners from the total of 66 entries. Only those entries made it to the second round for which a complete dossier was provided and in which the concept ‘green’ played a crucial role. The plans and designs were also reviewed with regard to the aspect of safety. The judges used an objective evaluation and scoring system that ensured that their decisions remained impartial.
The judges for the 2010 ‘Green Playground’ competition were as follows: Hanns-Jürgen Redeker (Chairman of the Trustees of the ‘Die Grüne Stadt’ Foundation, Hamburg), Dr. Herrmann Stürmer (Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Bonn), Alice Kube (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn/Leipzig), Martina Hoff (landscape architect, Essen), Ulrich Scheffler (BSFH, Ratingen), Matthias Hinkelammert (journalist, Haymarket Media GmbH & Co. KG, Braunschweig/Eichstetten).
The winning designs will be presented at the Nuremberg GaLaBau Trade on Friday, 17 September 2010 on the BSFH stand.
Judges' statements
Hanns-Jürgen Redeker (Chairman of the Trustees of the ‘Die Grüne Stadt’ Foundation, Hamburg, and Chairman of the Jury for the 2010 Playground Competition): “Green playgrounds make sense because a green playground meets the wants and needs of children, parents and local residents. For ecological, climatological and not least aesthetic reasons, urban planners advocate for urban areas the establishment of a series of many, optimally linked green areas, even if these are small, instead of a single, large and centrally located park. Green playgrounds also provide habitats for plants and animals and should form an integral part of the environmental policy of towns and cities. Various studies have demonstrated that there is a direct correlation between access to nature and health. But a green playground, as we conceive of it, provides much more: children need to experience and become familiar with the natural world if they grow up to become environmentally-aware citizens and consumers. This competition is the perfect way to encourage playground sponsors to invest in green children’s playgrounds. We hoped - but the response has shown that our expectations were correct - that this competition would help focus more interest on the subject of ‘experiencing nature through play’. We would like to thank Ilse Aigner, Minister for Consumer Protection, for agreeing to act as patron and main promoter of the competition. Perhaps it was the prize of €10,000 that inspired so many local authorities, playground providers, planners and public groups to submit entries. We will be showcasing the winning entries at the Nuremberg Trade Fair for Urban Green and Open Spaces on 17 September 2010, and I am sure that this will give further impetus to the concept as a whole.”
Ulrich Scheffler (Lappset Spiel-, Park-, Freizeitsysteme GmbH, representing the BSFH): “It is the main objective of the ‘Die Grüne Stadt’ foundation to make us all aware of the valuable contribution that green spaces make to our economy and our quality of life. It was with this in view that the organisation launched its ‘Green Playground’ competition in June.
A competition of this importance draws attention to the needs of children and young people and provides an incentive for the creation of imaginative solutions for the construction of green playgrounds. The competition also encourages cities and municipalities to invest in green children’s playgrounds because a very desirable prize awaits the winner.
Our attraction to green spaces remains undiminished as our urban areas continue to expand - frequently at the cost of our quality of life.
It is particularly important that children and youngsters who have no garden at home are provided with access to sport and recreational amenities in their neighbourhood in the form of parks, playgrounds and open spaces because the state of health of the younger generations has deteriorated alarmingly in industrialised countries. The percentage of children who are obese increases annually. The sense of balance, coordination and basic motor skills are promoted by outdoor play and this has an effect on the physical development, learning capacity, language skills and the self-awareness and confidence of children. Not only that, but the outcome is that children learn through play that nature is something worth protecting.
It is part of our responsibility towards posterity to ensure that our children are given the opportunity to fully develop their potentials and that we provide them with the chance to experience and to get to know the natural world so that they can mature into responsible citizens with a respect for nature.”
Alice Kube (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation): “Green spaces within the urban landscape help exercise motor and cognitive skills and promote the emotional and social development of children and young people. This has an overall positive effect on these generations, as all their senses and their imagination are stimulated. And the immediate surroundings that we come into contact with when we are young significantly determine how we perceive the natural world when we are older.
Green playgrounds that incorporate natural elements often provide children and youngsters with their first and most fundamental insight into nature near to where they live. Because of this, green playgrounds represent a contribution towards the federal government’s national strategy of conservation of biological diversity. The objective is not just to provide habitats for animals and plants, but also to ensure that people have a better quality of life and the opportunity for recreation, play and to experience nature near to where they live.
The concept behind the ‘Green Playground’ competition is just an instance of how these manifold functions of green spaces can actually be combined. The local activities of authorities, planning offices and committed parents are being brought into the spotlight and gaining recognition outside their immediate environs through the competition. The competition has produced evidence of the exciting array of green, natural playgrounds being planned or constructed throughout Germany, and it is to be hoped that these will inspire others to imitate them.”
Matthias Hinkelammert (Haymarket Media GmbH & Co. KG, TASPO editorial team):
“We need green playgrounds because they provide children and youngsters with space for play and exercise in the fresh air. There is no preset play activity linked with a tree, a hedge, a pathway between shrubs. A tree can represent the crow’s nest of a pirate ship or a castle tower, a simple hut in a meadow can be a palace, robber’s den and corner shop all rolled into one. Stones in a playground become gold nuggets, leaves are banknotes, sticks are flying witches brooms (or swords), you can make sand cake and - assuming you get the mixture of earth and water correct - a superb chocolate tart. All this does not necessarily make play equipment redundant - swings, slides, rope slide and combined play objects have their place in the playground. But without a structural concept, without growing plants, playgrounds lack those dimensions in which the equipment can be used for purposes and play functions beyond those envisioned by the manufacturers.
We have already become so aware of the value of nature for our society that we often simply take it too much for granted - that is the beauty of holding a competition of this kind. The entries submitted, covering a range from kindergarten playgrounds to large recreational facilities, show the various ways in which natural vegetation can be used as an important and central design element. I am sure that this competition will promote the more widespread use of this basic concept in future.”
