YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
The installation came about after Carve, the Dutch architects who have been responsible for a variety of inspiring playground designs, were asked by the municipality of the Hague to design two ‘integrated play facilities’ suitable for children with and without disabilities. The aim of the project was to provide play areas that were inclusive and offered possibilities to all children regardless of their ability.
Carve has worked with Van Vliet on a number of occasions and decided that Playtop’s impact absorbing surfacing was the most appropriate surface to use due to its flexibility in colour, design and form.
The first playground is located in Escamp and named Melis Stokepark. It is a fantastic example of how different levels of a surface can be integrated to create an interesting and exciting area for children to play. The playground consists of an ascending wooden ring with an inner play area which is formed using 300m2 of blue Playtop to allow the sloping sides to be scalable. There are also two tunnels completely surfaced in Playtop which, along with the inner play area, provide a secluded place for children who may find it difficult to keep pace in larger open areas. Playtop was also laid around the outside of the ring to provide a wider space for children’s activities, whilst the inner area of slopes, tunnels, slides and sand offer an array of endless possibilities for imaginative play for children with and without disabilities. The Playtop installation at Melis Stokepark was completed in 8 days.
The second play area – van Campenvaart, which consists of 280m2 of red and orange Playtop, is located in Leidschenveen. As with Melis Stokepark, the play area has been designed to incorporate different levels and angles allowing children to explore the undefined possibilities of the play area. Installed on an existing lawn and shaped as a folded red blanket, the surface has a variety of tactile elements such as climbing grips, a moving rubber mat and a number of concave and convex half spheres, whilst other play equipment create additional play elements and are defined using orange Playtop surfacing. The Van Vliet installation team completed the project in just 3 days. (www.playtop.com)
