19.10.2018 - Ausgabe: 5/2018

Water-based fun and cooling-off for children of all age groups in Vienna

Gerald Navara (Edutainment Consultant)

During the warmer days in Vienna, many parents and their children look for alternative ways to cool off that don't require them to visit a pool. Vienna's water playgrounds offer ideal venues at which to spend a playful afternoon in the refreshing chill of water. 

The United Nations declared 2003 the International Year of Freshwater. This inspired me, the author of this article, and my partners Victoria Golub and Hanno Baschnegger, to design a playground that would be entirely dedicated to water as a theme. Our concept of a water playground for Vienna was, in fact, approved by the relevant municipal councillor for the environment. It was to be located on Danube Island, Vienna's largest recreational site. The 'island' was originally constructed in the 1970s and 1980s as a flood barrier to protect the lower-lying districts of Vienna. But the inhabitants of Vienna soon discovered that the flood relief channel could be used for other purposes than those intended and it became a magnet for bathers. On hot summer weekends, more than 200,000 of Vienna's residents may gather here to enjoy a cooling dip (that is almost 20% of the entire population of the city!).

A water playground on the island would thus add to its attractiveness. One of the important features of the concept was that it would be easy to reach using public transport. The U1 metro line is the most frequently used of those in the city and serves the largest catchment area. The ideal location was identified just 300 m from the line's Donauinsel station. Clearly visible from the site is the UNO International Centre ‒ Vienna is home to one of the four official headquarters of the United Nations.

Just as in the case of all the projects we have undertaken, we here wanted to combine play and education. Although the loanword 'edutainment' was still unfamiliar to German speakers in 2003, it has now entered into general use. We chose as a theme for our Danube Island water playground the history of our civilisation. It is water that has been the stimulus behind many inventions ‒ bridges, ferries, locks, pumps, waterwheels ‒ there is almost no end to the list. Positioned on top of an artificially created elevation is a windmill. This is used to pump water up from a subterranean reservoir to a play hill. Without windmills of this kind to serve artesian wells, many farms in Australia and America would not be in existence. But in addition to the windmill, there is also a 'natural' source of water. Bank filtrate obtained from the New Danube river channel is transferred at a rate of 10 litres per second into a rivulet. For children, this water at a temperature of just 12 - 14°C is the ideal play environment on hot days ‒ there is usually nothing similar to be found in the heart of major cities. The water is conveyed to a waterfall that fills a small pond crossed by a suspension bridge that is sturdy enough to be used by accompanying adults. The water continues into another rivulet with another technical attraction; this is a water-raising device constructed on the same principle as the waterwheels used in the Middle East that is powered by the water current and returns some of the water to the higher lying pond. The water now passes a small boat lock, where it now enters the 'Gatsch' zone that is particularly popular with younger children. We deliberately decided to designate this area using this vernacular expression. The Wikipedia entry defines the word 'Gatsch' as an "Austrian dialect term used to describe sludge and mud". And that is precisely what appeals to little children ‒ the opportunity to mix sand and water, mould it into forms and create something that soon disintegrates back into its component parts.

However, this feature has become a bit of a nightmare for the hygiene consultants of the city administration and it has been the subject of dispute over years. There can be no doubt that hygiene plays an important role in daily life yet medical professionals have repeatedly pointed out that exposure to excessive hygiene can result in failure to develop an effective immune system. A leader article recently appeared in the Wiener Zeitung, one of the major publications of the country that serves as the official journal of the Austrian state, under the title 'Keimfreie Lebensgefahr' or 'Germ-free: a life-threatening risk'. "...although appropriate hygiene standards promote good health, excessively sterile conditions can damage it. British researchers have made a shocking finding that underlines this. They report that the increasingly germ-free environment of our modern world can actually be life-threatening for young children as it does not allow their immune systems to develop sufficiently to fight cancer…". The study in question is described in detail in the article. This for the present can represent my contribution to the discussion of the subject of hygiene.

Returning to the subject in hand, the main attraction for older children is the large pond at one end of the playground. Here it is possible to cross the water using a cable ferry. There are often so many using it at once that it touches the bottom ‒ we originally designed the boat to accommodate a maximum of 15 passengers! There is what we also thought would be a hindrance here. This is an oversized fish head that from time to time spurts out fountains of water across the path of the ferry. Again, differences between adults' and children's ways of thinking here become apparent. We the designers thought that the children would try to avoid being drenched by the jets of water but exactly the opposite is the case. They deliberately manoeuvre the boat so that they are directly in the path of the spray, an event that each time is met with howls of delight. After passing through the playground, the water is directed back into the Danube. Additional features of the playground include fountain hoppers, hand-operated Archimedes screws and a play table on which children can discover how water flows. For adults accompanying children there are loungers and there are showers to use when it is time to go home. We've called this element the 'kids wash'.

The water playground on Danube Island is only open during the bathing season, in other words from early May to late September. As soon as it was opened in 2004, it became the most popular playground in Vienna. There are supervisors on site who also register the number of visitors and there is in addition a first aid station. To date, happily, only minor injuries have occurred.

There is one curious fact that has since come to light. It would seem that, in comparison with other playgrounds in the city, a far higher proportion of accompanying fathers come here with their children.
The Danube Island water playground is maintained by the children's association 'Wiener Kinderfreunde' on behalf of the city authority (municipal department 13).

 

The Wienerberg water playpark

The remarkable success of this water playground was the reason why, in 2010, the construction of another playground of this kind was commissioned. However, the basic concept here was a quite different one. The Wienerberg water playpark is located on a recently constructed reservoir designed to supply drinking water to the southern districts of Vienna. The original reservoir was built here over 100 years ago and needed to be updated. A site extending to 17,000 m², quite literally on the roof of the new reservoir, has thus become available on the edge of the very densely populated 'tenth' district of Vienna. The residents here range from long-established Viennese inhabitants to immigrants from practically every corner of the earth. Here there are next to no freely accessible, extensive free spaces between the structures erected in the 1960s and 1970s. And there are many younger people who now live in this area, with several kindergartens and schools in the vicinity.

The predefined theme for the play park was "How does water get into the city?" In common with all projects designed by BGN Erlebnisökologie, the playpark is used to combine fun and games with information and education. Interesting facts concerning water are communicated in a playful fashion to visitors on information elements located throughout the site. These are not conventional signs but inscribed plates embedded in the ground that explain from where and how the much praised 'Vienna water' gets here.

The park is designed to be used by visitors of all ages ‒ although the accent is of course primarily on children and young people. In the view of the planners, everyone remains young at heart and representatives of the 60+ age group can also be seen here, even without the accompaniment of their grandchildren.

Constructing the attraction over the reservoir was a particular challenge for BGN Erlebnisökologie.

 

The way of the water

The journey undertaken by the water is represented in two different forms ‒ one natural and the other artificial. The 'mountain source' is located on the highest point, that of the roof of the slide chamber. Because of the load-bearing limitations of the roof, this mountain takes the form of a steel scaffold in a form similar to a pergola. Its sides are covered by wisteria plants that are separated by two waterfalls. These empty into a small pond to the east. In common with all the water features here, the pond has a maximum depth of 40 cm and visitors can wade through it. The pond empties into a small, simulated natural stream that flows through the whole site. On its banks and in several small inlets there are play areas in which children can experiment with the water ‒ here they can dam it and marvel at its effects. The stream meanders through 100 m before discharging into a lower play pond with a surface area of 600 m². A 2000 m² sand beach forms its banks.

In contrast with the natural-seeming stream area, there is a replica aqueduct that is also supplied from the 'mountain source'. This elongated feature stretches across the site and is evocative of the high source pipelines that have been supplying Vienna's population with water for over 100 years.

At one end of the aqueduct, the water enters a so-called 'water tower'. This has been constructed to look like the historic Wienerberg water tower that stands within 200 m of the miniature version. The Wienerberg water tower was long used to supply water to the more elevated parts of the city and today it is a listed monument. Children can not only climb within its little brother but also cool off under the oversized shower mounted on its side. And of course, the mini water tower also has a slide ‒ an attraction that no play element can today do without. The tower was constructed by Moser Holzspielgeräte in accordance with prepared plans. For very young children, there is a sand play zone, also provided with the tried-and-tested Moser water discharge devices. Small children can thus dabble, splash and knead etc. under the direct supervision of the accompanying adults. The Wienerberg water playpark also has a 'kids wash' so that they be cleaned before setting off home.

The water of the facility is obtained from the Vienna municipal supply. As is standard practice in Vienna, the playpark has been inspected and approved by the TÜV certification authority.

In the roughly 7000 m² western section of the water park there are gently undulating meadows that provide a waving sea of grass, forming a thematic contrast with the active play section in the east. The former dry grassland that used to cover the reservoir will once again take hold here and thus a site will be returned to nature in this heavily built-up area. Also to be found here is a volleyball court for youngsters looking for sport-related action, with chill-out option.

In addition to the usual park furniture, there are sun loungers in the form of boats designed by BGN Erlebnisökologie that conform to the character of the water park. The whole site is accessible via wheelchair-friendly pathways.

Each summer, the Wienerberg water playpark attracts more than 150,000 visitors. Considerable emphasis is placed on supervision and, unlike in the case of similar attractions, supervisors are always on hand here. It must be admitted that the running costs do somewhat overshoot those for more standard park complexes and playgrounds. The play sand is regularly analysed to ensure that pathogen content does not exceed acceptable levels and is replaced as necessary, while the hygiene status of the various water features is also monitored. The accident risk here is similar to that in other playgrounds. As in the case of all public playgrounds in Vienna, visitors are not required to pay an entrance fee to use either of the water worlds described here.
 

Image: Gerald Navara, City of Vienna