Play Area Design - Morti’s Approach

Play area design and build from concept to completion can sometimes be a daunting task. This blog has been written to help potential clients identify the different topics for discussion. We hope that this proves helpful in finding the right supplier for your project. 

In this blog, we’re looking at a case study of a site with poor access, flood-prone grounds, and a steep terrace that sits within a conservation area surrounded by housing overlooking the site. Oh, and not to mention that the current play provision has seen better days.

Play area design should make the best use of available space, natural features and site topography.

The first stage to any successful play area design is working with a professional playground designer that will look at your existing site and map it out correctly, taking into account all the physical features above and below ground. 

The above design makes the best use of the available space, natural features and topography. The site is steep and terraced with the current play equipment laid out over 4 levelled areas within the park. 

Current play provision is fragmented where children of different ages will find it particularly difficult to access the site to meet and make new friendships and play together. In order to enhance these existing flat areas within the space, we have enlarged these areas to create increased play value and linked the four areas together to encourage interaction between age groups. 

For example, the current play provision allows for a limited amount of swinging, climbing, rocking and sliding, appealing to a specific level of ability.  Our design builds upon these core play principles by offering further play value, utilising the lay of the land and new equipment installation to offer more-or-less challenging equipment for a variety of ages and abilities.  

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Children’s play area design & consideration for exploration

Exploration is a key element in play area design as independent and group discovery will energise children to explore the whole park. Our design takes the park’s neighbours into great consideration, utilising a choice of natural colours that are complementary to the surrounding area. The play equipment chosen is easy and pleasant on the eye where natural shades of green, brown and beige make up the majority of the colour pallet while still being inviting for children.  Individual pieces of equipment have colour and vary in shape, making the space encouraging for independent interaction. Furthermore, the planting design of wildflower bulbs will complement the play area scheme with variety throughout the seasons. 

Play area design for varying age groups

It's important to provide a wide range of play experiences such as rocking, swinging, sliding etc where children between the ages of  0-12 years of age can play in different ways. It is important to note that you may have older children to cater for whereas this case study is only focusing on 0-12; you may have 16 year olds to encourage to your site.  The requirements for older children can be tailored accordingly where more challenging activities can be accommodated.  

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Equipment

Great design incorporates a range of play equipment/Value and contains a huge range of play experiences. Providing activities which appeal to different age groups that allows for different abilities to join in together key to success. Installing a number of different swing types to ensure that all children regardless of age or ability can play together is a good idea. Using flat swings, cradle swings and basket swings allows for a mix of activities to be enjoyed. For sliding, we recommend considering an embankment slide as well as a toddler slide from an age appropriate climbing frame. These two differing types of slide offer a different challenge and appeal to varied age ranges of children - not to mention parents who would like to relive their youth! The Spinning Cone Climber can be used by a wide age range as it incorporates both climbing and spinning. For rocking, we recommend springers as well as a see saw; both will appeal to a range of children. The inground trampoline can be used by all ages and abilities, allowing children to bounce independently as well as together or accompanied by a carer. 

Multiplay units provide a number of challenging activities for children which will test their climbing skills, improve balance and coordination, encourage them to overcome obstacles while promoting physical development. A high-quality Multiplay unit also allows many users to play together. A Toddler Multiplay boat, for example, enables children to slide, learn how to assess risk, practise climbing and enjoy role play together. Utilising soft surfaces, such as 3D wetpour animals, means that children can climb up the site together in a safe manner. Designing spaces to ensure that the children are able to challenge and stretch themselves to their individual limits in an encouraging exploratory way is important too. 

Making use of the natural disposition of the site lends itself to a physical challenge if carefully thought through.  You can increase/encourage this challenge through great play design by linking areas within the site, creating further play obstacles to overcome such as Trim Trails. For example, in order to get from one play area to the next, you can climb up and over the crocodile to get to the tube embankment slide. This play design further stretches the children’s imagination challenging them to overcome inhibitions and push themselves further. 

A well designed site allows children of different ages to play together

Landscape design for children’s play areas

Play area design needs to appeal and satisfy the varying age ranges from 0-12yrs, showing how children through the age range are able to interact, learn and play in a safe yet challenging space.  The key way for children of different ages to play together is down to the landscape design of the site and creating a cohesive space.  Where appropriate, the lack of regimented fencing also allows younger children to experiment with the more challenging play experiences by keeping the movement between space open.

0 - 1.5 years

The play space should provide safe crawling areas with equipment to hold onto and climb over, such as the 3D animals. Friendly faces such as the whale and hippo will appeal to younger ones encouraging speech, hands on play, crawling and walking. Assisted play is also available with spring rockers, seesaw and cradle swings. Imaginary spaces and games will appeal to younger children, but also older as the 1.5yr-3yr olds will encourage siblings and younger friends to join in using their imaginations.

1.5 - 3 years

Toddlers explore their physical environment in a hands-on fashion using their imagination instigating imaginary spaces, places and structures.  It is essential for these early explorers to conduct their explorations in a safe way, but still with the element of challenge. Challenge is great for physical, social and cognitive development.  Good play design provides this through interesting spaces offering activities such as climbing, swinging and covered spaces to enable imaginary play such as tents, dens and houses. All these activities combined allow toddlers to play alongside one another whilst creating opportunities for independent/solo play and encouraging interaction and friendship building.  

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3 - 6 years 

The age of fantasy play and the worlds of castles, pyramids and times aboard ship encouraging group play are what appeal to this age range.  The challenge with great play design here is to strike up activities where several children can take part in group play whether they are three or over six years of age.  Climbing frames offer these differing challenges and role play spaces as the units have different access points and platforms and slides attractive to all levels of ability. Carefully thought through landscape design where attention is paid towards the interaction of equipment within the setting. This encourages the observation of plants, insects such as butterflies and animals through the numerous three-dimensional shapes and animal springers incorporated within the play area design. 

6 - 12 years

Dynamic Motion, spinning and challenging sliding appeals to this age group. Group climbing activities can be found on Multiplay units which have high climbing nets which help strengthen both eye-hand and inter-limb coordination. These skills are vital for learning to read and write. Challenging vertical Lianas are challenging to ascend, aiding the development of balance and coordination skills.  Rope tunnels are a great place to hang out and crawl where the only limit is one’s imagination. Slide rails challenge even the oldest children. Gross motor skills and coordination as well as a sense of balance are stimulated when gliding down. A long tube embankment slide has always been popular on playgrounds, offering challenge and skill, climbing back up the bank over obstacles such as the crocodile and down the tube again.  The twisted net is a really challenging climbing net even for good climbers! With its twist, it really puts their coordination skills to the test.  Because the net is so nice and long, it can have several children climbing in it at the same time.