17.08.2011 - Ausgabe: 4/2011

Damming, squirting and diverting at Deutschen Eck

by Gerhard Hauber, Atelier Dreiseitl GmbH

With all these specifications in mind, we finally developed the Water Experience playground. As its name says, and in contrast to the other three themed play areas on the BUGA site, main point of focus in this playground is to experience water. Only a few steps away from the "Deutschen Eck" area on the river promenade in Koblenz, both children and adults can experience water in a varied and multifaceted way at seven play stations. The basic idea of the concept was to transpose important characteristics of water which occur along a river into play experiences. In this way topics such as 'source', 'spring', 'wave', 'labyrinth', 'lake', 'lookout' and 'final destination' were chosen. At these stations water can be dammed, diverted, sprayed, squirted and patterns of current or standing waves can be created, all interactive, influenced in a variety of ways and controllable.

The stations were all designed and developed especially for this playground with the water experiences themselves being developed and tested as models on a 1:1 scale in our studios. In some cases these models were then taken as plans for the originals by the construction companies.

The strong, colourful floor covering of the play island is made up of seamless impact protection flooring, coloured according to the overall colour concept of the BUGA 2011 with focus on red and oranges. The remaining area is made of yellow-beige coloured concrete with an additional coating where it comes into contact with the water.

The stations are embedded in a three-dimensional, softly modulating ground sculpture which suggests a water catchment area. The water in the stations flows on different levels and through different routes towards the "Final destination" where it disappears in a dramatic way. As a side note, this design also simplifies the cleaning process after flooding as the whole playground can simply be hosed down with the dirt collecting at the lowest point where it can be removed. A further advantage is the accessibility of the whole playground to wheelchairs as slopes were determined beforehand in cooperation with organisations for the disabled. Some play objects have also been positioned slightly higher than the others so that they can be used by people sitting in wheelchairs, and even the springs (floor jets) can be influenced by the tyres wheels of a wheelchair.

Stepping and sitting stones have been included throughout the whole playground. These serve to help people cross the water-covered areas and keep their feet dry. The surface reliefs on these elements were designed and created by students between the ages of 6 and 16 years at a nearby school. The designs, worked into clay tablets, were used to make negatives and these were then laid in the moulds used to manufacture the stepping and sitting stones. The work of local citizens was greatly valued by the people responsible for the BUGA in the hope that their identification with the buildings and objects created will reduce or prevent vandalism - success in other projects allows this hope to be upheld.

Also important for the targeted development of playground elements is an early and continuing cooperation with the test inspection authorities (TÜV). Details of the objects were already discussed several times with the authorities during the planning phase and further developments determined using pictures of the models so that the building approval was really only a matter of form.

The water technology presented a particular challenge as the whole plant needed to be built in a safe way with regard to flooding. This meant that all underground shafts and manholes were built to withstand pressure. Any openings in the ground were given additional covers which could be screwed tight if the danger of flooding threatened in order to prevent entry of silt and other sediments. The electricity supply was installed to lie above the level of the "flood of the century". The playground was also purposely flooded during the building work in order to carry out a test of the whole plant and allowing one or other weak point to be corrected.

The playground is separated from the "Danziger Freiheit" area by closely placed benches which provide an optical boundary to the very popular footpath and bikeway. A beer garden is included in the northern boundary ensuring that parents can be catered for if their children cannot be persuaded to move on and leave the playground.