YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
In contrast to the use of the word in German, which tends rather towards the artistic and creative aspects and to a large extent defines the term 'design' so that it becomes a real thing rather than an abstract idea, the Anglo-Saxon term design also includes the technical aspects of "creation". What is your fundamental perception of design?
Falk Dorband: Design has the aim of making the most of the practical value of objects or facilities. Things, which people manufacture for their use, should be functional, reliable and agreeable to handle. A differentiated way of looking at the requirements to be expected from the target group is the basis for decision in the design process. Therefore, designers of playgrounds and play objects should be familiar with the significance and function of play. Many further influential factors, such as legal and regional parameters, technology, costs, sustainability and aesthetics influence the result.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: In product design creative and artistic aspects become entangled with technical and structural principles. Good design demands that a range of criteria such as design quality, originality, viability, operation, safety or the relationship between a (play) object and its surroundings and users are taken into account.
Playground@Landscape: Design has functions for the human body. And design has functions for the intellect and the psyche. So, is design fundamental for the children's playground?
Falk Dorband: The quality of play in cities is often unsatisfactory. The way that children are extensively being forbidden to play on public areas in common use has significant negative consequences. This trend needs to be countered with children's playgrounds. Those involved in designing a playground discover the exciting task of designing something attractive, with lots of adventure, which offers a wealth of experiences. In this process the necessity of integrating play into the real surroundings becomes an especial challenge. Target-oriented design has the capacity to offer possible solutions in this area.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: Designing play objects always remains an attempt to replace the lost space for play and the natural play facilities connected with that. Well-designed "replacement" means that imaginative, inspiring objects, which capture the children's attention, can open up new perspectives to them. Only if we succeed in creating appealing play facilities with "heart, fun and understanding", we are on the right path. In the final analysis it is the children who will show us by using the play objects and by the way they play on them whether we have succeeded or not.
Playground@Landscape: Where does the inspiration for the design of a creative playground come from?
Falk Dorband: The change in societal and social realities and behaviour patterns has a considerable influence on how children develop. The increasing fascination with virtual worlds offers children other possibilities to orient themselves, but fewer chances to come to grips physically with their real environment than is desirable for their holistic development. As a result there is a tendency that their games become detached from their real social environment. The topic is exciting and it is rewarding to work on it. This is the source of inspiration and challenge in jointly designing public areas.
And of course, for the designer it is always inspiring to see children playing.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: Again and again we take our inspiration from observing children playing and from the fact that after more than 30 years of working for children, it is still fun to work in this area.
Playground@Landscape: What goals do you pursue in your planning of play spaces?
Falk Dorband: Play can be a challenge for children, which also reaches the bounds of the affordable. The outcome of play is a lasting personal and social experience. New things are tried out, boundaries are crossed, the familiar is repeated or called into question, success and failure are experienced. Imagination and personal fulfilment go together with satisfying play. Playing gives children the keys to the period, into which they have been born. All this is achieved because the child wants to do it and it is fun! There is scarcely a more effective pedagogic concept than autonomous play. Our goal is to support this play.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: Children should feel drawn to play objects. The objects must offer spaces and play functions, which are challenging and make experiences possible. Atmosphere, fun and sensory stimulation are also target requirements.
Playground@Landscape: Which materials do you prefer to use?
Falk Dorband: Children's play embraces everything. Variable materials, such as water, mud, and snow are interactive. In a well designed play environment that offers many definite possibilities for play. Wood has many advantages as a material for play equipment. As a living material it "tells" us about where it came from and what its properties are, it smells different in rain and sunshine, it alters with use and shows signs of ageing and use. Constructions in wood make their mark through their non-industrial building techniques and putting them together is usually manageable for the layperson. Also, children are able to understand them. Wood is a good choice for self-help construction and building. All these properties can hardly be ascribed to stainless steel and so it produces a deadening effect. Wood is a material, which people come across in many areas of life. It can be easily combined with many other materials. Play areas for children should offer the opportunity to experience the widest possible range of different types of materials.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: We work with wood as our basic material, since, being a living material, it speaks most strongly to children on the emotional level. Combining wood with other materials, for example with stainless steel for slides or bars, rope, nets etc. serves to give the children plenty of playthings and enhances the possibilities for their play.
Playground@Landscape: What was it that got you interested in designing play objects?
Klaus Hermann Thiele: When I was a student, I was already getting interested in developing products for children. Before we had completed our studies, fellow students and I founded a company which designed toys made from wood, which was still successfully trading more than 20 years later. When I had completed my studies, together with the designer, Falk Dorband we founded a company for the "development and realisation of play equipment", which developed and produced play objects for nurseries, day care centres, schools, clinic and institutes for disabled people. Alongside that there were assignments to design “extra-curricular learning environments for primary school children". These assignments included converting a cargo boat into an adventure ship with interactive stations or reconfiguring English double-decker buses for the teaching of English. With every new experience in the "activities for children" spectrum my interest in this exciting work grew and became more profound.
Playground@Landscape: As regards things to do with children's playgrounds, do you work exclusively for the Richter Spielgeräte Company? What is your position on that?
Falk Dorband: As a freelance designer I am not tied to one company. It is important for free cooperation that the manufacturer is able to comprehend our intentions and that the targets and ideals contained in the project are compatible. If these requirements are met, it is possible to find very good solutions in a joint project where all the parties are communicating with each other.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: In the field of designing play equipment I work exclusively for the Richter Spielgeräte Company. My priorities lie in expanding an already very varied programme with new, original, unusual, sensory and amazing objects. A series with objects which chime and make noises has been developed together with the designer, Falk Dorband.
In this joint work we have also designed climbing equipment, whose three-dimensional appearance stimulates the imagination and counters the trend towards "stainless steel playgrounds". A series for "the really little children" would like to create spaces through lovingly designed, easily understandable objects, which will encourage children to handle and try out things simply for the first time.
Playground@Landscape: Is design directed at the human being? Or at the children's playground?
Falk Dorband: This poses the question whether it makes sense to develop play equipment for 'special children's zones'. The purpose of children's play is almost always to enlarge on reality. Would it not be better to support play in the place where it originates? In the real life of the family and its social surroundings? This seems to be partly achievable in the rural setting. Could cities offer facilities of the quality, which would open up the opportunity for children to have a greater share in public spaces?
Klaus Hermann Thiele: Design has to be directed at the human being.
Playground@Landscape: Jörn Walter, Hamburg's Chief Planning Officer has criticised what he calls design playgrounds. He thinks they offer "little inspiration to make children want to stay there and play". Is he right?
Falk Dobrand: The expression, 'design playground' is not very well chosen. In this context it is perhaps better to talk of styling. Design implies that the purpose is to create something useful! In the sort of playgrounds we are talking about here, the needs of children are scarcely taken into account. As a result these playgrounds repel children. It is also clear, that the design of a space is often more important than choosing the right play equipment for it. We are tempted to ask whether the object of planning was not in fact to produce an unusable playground. Functioning playgrounds can be full of life. That is not always desired by everyone involved.
Klaus Hermann Thiele: When you look at pictures of the playgrounds he is talking about, you have to agree with him.
However it is more appropriate to consider this in differing lights.
Whenever a playground created by designers who design with the interest of the children in mind and with the criteria explicitly set out beforehand, an exciting, appealing environment, rich in experiences for the children can result and this will promote child development and the children will enjoy being there.
Playground@Landscape: Let's talk about plagiarism! How can the designer protect his intellectual property?
Falk Dorband: Infringements of copyright law are increasingly on the agenda; the plagiarists are mostly wheeler-dealers with no professional pretensions as regards content. Since these cases are usually purely driven by the profit motive, these plagiarisms are still often poor. I welcome the fact that firms who have been victims of plagiarism are taking legal action to defend themselves.
Interviewer Thomas R. Müller (Playground@Landscape)
