Dominic College K-2 Play Space

Dominic College K-2 Play Space

Dominic College

Inspiration

Play improves a child’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being and encourages them to learn about the world and themselves while growing in confidence and learning to build relationships.

For the Landscape Architect, playgrounds are the ultimate tests of their capacity. The spaces created need to offer the child an opportunity to creatively own the place, imagining for themselves the way in which they will us the playground. At the same time, programmatic and safety concerns need to be addressed. How one might play in nature has to be tempered by the reality of the setting whether it is a school ground or an urban locale. The trick, then, is to provide structure to the experience without the awareness that the playground is structured.

Outcomes

At Dominic College, the parameters for design related to the primary school age of the students and their need for motor skill and upper body muscle development. Each element of the playground provides different physical challenges. Around the active heart of the playground are a variety of places to socialise and kick back out of the thrum. The use of natural materials and heavily planted areas of native vegetation and the integration of movement patterns with the steep topography of the original landform are highlights of the playground.

Project Recognition

Every day the play area is alive with the sight and sound of joyous children. They run, jump, scramble and climb with glee making the team at Inspiring Place happy they are happy – payback for the effort of design and the attention to detail which has been given to the project through its long duration.

Photography: Jordan Davis