Joint planning towards a healthy city
Healthy, equal, resilient and thus liveable municipalities are characterised by the fact that health concerns such as rest, recreation, well-being, physical activity, stress management and relaxation have a ...
YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
The children's playground in Bochum, Heinrich Gustav Straße / corner of Wittekindstraße is among the projects supported by the federal government, the state of NRW and Bochum city council as part of the Social City programme in the Werne Langendreer- Alter Bahnof (WLAB) urban renewal area. The environment and greenspaces department of Bochum city council entrusted our firm with the task of providing specialist support for this urgently required renovation project. The planning phase of the almost 2,600 m² site (playground = 1,550,00 m², car park = 1,050 m²) began in April 2017 and the renovated playground opened at the end of June 2018.
The participation processes were organised and executed by the neighbourhood management unit. The employees of the unit are available to answer residents' questions regarding the development process in the neighbourhood.
A short distance from the playground are a nursery and a primary school.
Many children also spend a little time here on their way home.
Before the renovation project the playground had antiquated equipment and was not adequately separated from the adjacent car park, which also significantly hindered children's ability to play.
In April 2017, as part of a civic participation process carried out by the neighbourhood office including the offices involved and our firm, local children were asked first to take a tour of the neighbourhood and then to immediately express their wishes and suggestions for the redesign of the park in a wide variety of ways including painting, crafts and writing. The enthusiastic participation of children, youths and many parents resulted in the creation of an extensive list of suggestions and tips for the "dream playground". Climbing apparatus, slides, swings, sand play, trampolines and zipwires were all mentioned, with children also providing a number of striking drawings. (photos). Separate areas for infants and teenagers / youths were requested along with facilities for parents and other accompanying persons.
For parents the paramount concern was the safety of their children. The playground had been hard to see from the nearby housing development due to the height of the vegetation in between. The playground's location by a heavily-used junction and the adjacent car park also posed a potential threat to the children playing in the park and was another cause of concern for parents. Over the course of the project it was decided to add the area of the car park to the playground. Only occasional access to a local sports ground behind the playground had to be guaranteed. Given the increasing scarcity of public funds it is understandable that the new playground was to require as little upkeep and maintenance as possible. Collaboration with the city environment and greenspaces, youth welfare and planning and building regulations departments was straightforward and purposeful in both the planning and execution phases.
Our firm created a playground design that took into account as many of the suggestions and wishes of all participants as possible.
Planning principles:
At the start of the planning phase the aim was to find an item of play equipment or multi-purpose play apparatus which combined as many of the desired functions (climbing, swinging, balancing, sliding) as possible and offered good value for money. The new play equipment should also be distinctive and not available on other playgrounds in the vicinity. The final choice was the "comet tail" supplied by the Spogg Sport-Güter GmbH company, an item of play equipment which allows lots of children to satisfy their urge to be active at once and also to sit and chill out for a while at a "cool" height of approximately 3 metres. We were also won over by the distinctive and challenging contemporary design. The "switchback" by the same company complements the "comet tail" to perfection and is ideal for balancing and relaxing.
Lots of local children enthusiastically followed the progress of the construction work. The park was opened on 22.06.2018, and the first thing children did was make a beeline for the "comet tail".
On the same day parents also turned up in large numbers to cast a watchful eye over their children's new playground. And everyone agrees that our "comet tail" playground is a fantastic new addition to the neighbourhood!
This multi-purpose play equipment is the USP of the playground within the neighbourhood and also the reason for the children's high level of acceptance of and identification with "their" playground.
Photo: Teschner landscape architecture firm
Further information:
Teschner landscape architecture firm Dipl.-Ing. Rolf Teschner, Dipl.-Ing. J.Teschner
www.rolf-teschner.de
Bochum city council, environment and greenspaces department Dipl.-Ing. A.Baltussen
www.bochum.de/umweltamt