The link between play and the environment is an important one.
AESTHETIC CRITERIA
This refers to how people perceive the playground in its appearance.
Does it look neat, colourful, obscure, gaudy, natural, attractive or
repulsive?
It is important to realise that
different people have different aesthetic perceptions. Children often
disagree with adults in their aesthetic preferences. Children tend to be
attracted to a messy appearance and to bright colours whereas adults
are very often repulsed by these same things. This leads to a conflict.
The children are the ones using the playground so it can be argued that
the playground should reflect their aesthetic preferences. On the other
hand, the playground often borders on the adult world and there is no
escaping the imposition of the aesthetics to the outside. The adults
must have some rights too. Often adults use their power over children
too much, and over-impose their aesthetic standards on the children.
Aesthetic considerations might include:
+ Unity - this is achieved by grouping or arranging in such a way that individual components have a sense of oneness.
+ Balance - this refers to symmetrical or asymmetrical balance.
+ Proportion - this refers to sizing or scaling of components in relation to each other and to the total landscape.
+ Harmony - this refers to the way all of the parts of the design fit together.
+ Contrast - this is the opposite of harmony and should not be overdone.
Occasional contrast adds interest and creates a more alive atmosphere.
Achieving appropriate aesthetic effects will create an atmosphere which
will encourage certain types of activity and discourage others. In this
way, aesthetics has a definite relationship with function.
Social Acceptance
There can often be conflict between what is socially acceptable and what
is functional. It might be functional for children to build cubby
houses in a playground, but not socially accepted in that community. It
might be functional to pay for a playground development by billboard
advertising, but it might not be socially accepted.
Financial Criteria
Everything which is planned for in a playground development must fall
within certain financial limits. You cannot build what you do not have
the money to pay for. Consider both the initial and ongoing costs:
1) Initial Costs - cost of design and construction.
2) Ongoing Costs - cost of maintenance and perhaps employment of play leaders (or supervisors, etc).
These criteria (and others) should be considered relative to the
components or elements of the design. The resulting arrangement becomes
your playground design.
Creating Effects
+ Close mowing tends to make an area seem larger.
+ A smooth boundary will make an area seem larger.
+ Shadows or openings at one side of an area will make it seem wider.
+ Looking downhill makes a distance seem longer.
+ Looking uphill makes a distance seem shorter.
+ Too much repetition and harmony is monotonous.
+ Too much contrast is chaotic.
+ Spaces which are too small can be oppressive.
+ Large spaces are empty and hollow unless there are a large number of people in those spaces.
+ Long spaces (in large scale public landscapes) can be overdone, becoming psychologically exhausting.
+ To achieve a harmony in space in enclosed areas - the ratio of building height to space width should be no more than 1 :4.
+ Introduced landforms i.e. reshaping of land, should blend in with existing topography.
+ Coarse textures decrease the apparent size of spaces.
+ Fine textures will make small spaces look bigger.
+ Flowing curved lines are passive, soft and pleasant.
+ Geometric lines and shapes are solid, strong and formal.
+ Sharp, straight, irregular lines create an active, vigorous feeling in a garden.
+ A garden can be made to appear larger by making trees and other
features from adjoining properties appear to be part of the garden
itself.
About the Author:
John L. Mason Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup'n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, MAIH, MACHPER, MASA
Mr Mason has had over 35 years
experience in the fields of Horticulture, Recreation, Education and
Journalism. He has extensive experience both as a public servant, and as
a small business owner. John has held positions ranging from Director
of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) to magazine editor.
John is a well respected member of
many professional associations, and author of over thirty five books and
of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John continues to
write books for various publishers including Simon and Shuster, and
Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing).
Interested in Learning More About Play or Playground Design?
The Environment of Play eBook
Play Leadership course
Play Therapy course
Playground Design course