YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Home does not simply begin and end at the front door. In fact, much of what happens outside our own four walls helps us to feel comfortable with where we live, such as our encounters with others, the places we go for recreation and that we use for relaxation, play and exercise.
The Ludwigshafen-based German property management and development company GAG Immobilien AG ensures that its residential estates are encompassed by a living environment that makes people feel at home. They organise activities designed for children, projects concerned with green spaces and nature, educational opportunities and promote contact between neighbours. GAG is genuinely interested in providing a welcoming environment.
One of its main partners when it comes to the construction of facilities for children is the playground equipment manufacturer Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte.
Playground@Landscape: What is the basic philosophy of GAG when it comes to designing outdoor spaces? What sort of emphasis do you place on creating attractive environs for your housing projects?
Thorsten Wegwerth, Project Manager Property Maintenance, GAG Immobilien AG: When GAG was originally founded in 1913 our maxim even then was 'Light, Air and Trees'. In our planning of residential sites, we have always attached considerable importance to the provision of extensive, carefully laid out and appropriately designed open spaces with the aim of offering the diametric opposite of densely-packed, dispiriting tenement housing. In its early years, GAG applied the principles adopted by the then popular garden city movement and I am pleased to say that we are still doing this today. We believe that attractive outdoor areas should be an integral part of any existing housing estate and of new developments; there need to be spaces where residents can play, meet each other and relax. Indeed, in many cases, it is the availability of such outdoor spaces that determines where many people choose to live. They are valuable amenities that add to the appeal of a residential area.
P@L: How do you go about designing the areas to be used for play? Do you first find out what the local residents want? Do you get together with the residents and show them your concepts?
Thorsten Wegwerth: We start with an idea - this might originate from the relevant property maintenance unit or the site supervisors in our customer centres but proposals also often come from our residents. We develop the idea into a first concept that is initially discussed internally but then we consult with our residents and, of course, the future users, the children. Although the basic outline is usually already in place, the children do have a say with regard to certain aspects, such as what play equipment should be installed. Then the final plan is drawn up and the work goes ahead. We also invest considerable effort in designing the outdoor spaces and playgrounds for our new housing developments, although, of course, we are unable to consult with the, as yet, non-existent residents. In such cases, we rely on the resourcefulness of experienced landscape designers and look to them to put in place an outdoor environment that the future residents will find attractive.
P@L: What age groups do you take into account in your plans; toddlers to senior citizens?
Thorsten Wegwerth: Our target group is 0 to 99 years old, whereby what we actually implement is determined by the setting, the requirement and, of course, the money that is available. Playgrounds for younger children are particularly in demand in some estates, while in others, separate play areas for children and adolescents are what are required. We have also already developed multigenerational playgrounds that include exercise equipment specifically designed for use by older people. What are very popular at present are fitness trails for young and old, four of which we have just finished constructing. Our essential objective is to provide attractive recreational opportunities in our outdoor areas for all residents.
P@L: Do you design play areas individually on the basis, for example, of a particular theme or do you prefer to use standard play equipment - seesaws, slides, swings - to meet the need?
Thorsten Wegwerth: Again, this sort of thing depends on the specific requirement, the circumstances and, in particular, on the space available. We have already put in place a number of larger theme-based playgrounds in which the site and equipment have been very imaginatively adapted to conform to a specific motif, such as pirates, fairy tales, knights and even bats and spiders. But this does not cover all of the roughly 630 playgrounds we currently manage.
P@L: How does GAG deal with its outdoor spaces; what sort of personnel numbers are assigned to this task? Do you have your own in-house teams? Do you use external planners or service personnel?
Thorsten Wegwerth: Within our property maintenance department are three project managers responsible for planning external areas but we also use external designers. We have a two-person playground service team that inspects sites every three months and undertakes the annual main audits while the caretakers and property supervisors in our customer centres check our playgrounds on a weekly basis. We have our own playground registry in which priority is given to ensuring the safety of the children, young people, adults and seniors who use our sites.
Images: Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte
