18.04.2019 - Ausgabe: 2/2019

A playground designed with the input of the neighbourhood in Bochum

Jola Teschner (Rolf Teschner landscape architecture firm)

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:

• Play and rest area for older children in the front section closer to the road
   
• Play area for infants in the rear section, away from the road, sheltered and in the shade of pre-existingtrees. Play equipment supplied by the Kaiser & Kühne Freizeitgeräte GmbH company, Eystrup
   
• In the centre a rest area in the form of a large seating deck under a tree, the so-called "chill egg" (supplied by the bernd fischer alulines GmbH & CO KG company, Bad Rappenau). From here there is a clear view of both play areas (photos).
   
• In the centre of the playground are a double swing (a conventional swing seat and a swing seat for infants) and an oblong trampoline suitable for wheelchair users for jumping and swinging together.
   
• The old car park area is now an asphalt area (the sports ground can still be accessed via this area) for skating, bike and BMX riding, rollerblading etc. A ramp, skateboard bank ramp, skate rail, streetball basket, skate rail and youth benches (play equipment supplied by the Fritz Müller GmbH company, Mönchengladbach) and an additional secured seat for meeting in the open air round off the offering.
   
• Separation of the two play areas, the play equipment play area and the asphalt area by a grassy hill which can be played on. Both areas remain visible despite separation.
   
• Erection of a bar grating fence and planting of shrubs to enclose the park from the busy street. Swivel barriers at the entrance as a clearance width of 3m had to be provided for access to the sports ground.
   
• Concrete paved access to the individual play areas and soft transitions: a paved ridge around the sand and pea gravel areas, curved chill-out pedestal, rubber-capped kerbs in the area of the double swing.
   
• Fall protection in the form of pearl gravel, sand and wood chips. A variety of materials to maximise haptic and visual diversity.
   
• Greening of the site with appropriate, robust, low-maintenance shrubs. Creation and maintenance of view corridors in vegetation towards housing development.
   
• Low-maintenance steel play equipment.
   
• Modern form of play equipment, equipment with signal effect and distinctive design.
   
• Innovative play equipment which fires the imagination with a diverse range of uses for lots of children simultaneously.

 

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