Turning Rainwater Into a Playground

Posted by John Farrier in Architecture on November 8, 2009 at 3:12 pm


Image: De Urbanisten and Studio Marco Vermeulen

Two Dutch architects want to alter the storm drainage system of the city of Rotterdam to redirect water into playgrounds. The water will be used to fill fanciful ponds and moats for children to play in/around:

In Florian Boer and Marco Vermeulen’s proposal, rainwater runoff isn’t funneled into a complex system of underground pipes, a system that is rather expensive to build and maintain, but is managed instead through a network of surface reservoirs, the Waterpleinen, or Watersquares. These storage spaces will be dry for most of the year, but during storm events, they will collect water from the surrounding neighborhood. If one reaches capacity, excess water will overflow into another basin. After the rain, the collected water will slowly recede into nearby bodies of water or seep into the soil.

So instead of being buried in concrete, excised from the daily life of the city and only experienced by municipal workers, urban hydrology is visibly, even prominently, incorporated into the surface fabric of the city. Programmed with recreational opportunities when its dry and even while inundated, its infrastructure provides active public spaces for the local area, not dark playgrounds for a handful of urban explorers. It even becomes an event, its frolicking rivulets and interior lakes staged for the young and old.

Link via Fast Company

 
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Neatorama Shop » Food & Drink » Offbeat Mints & Candies

10 Bizarre and Unique Playgrounds From Around the World

Posted by John Farrier in Baby & Kids, Pictures, Travel & Places on September 16, 2009 at 6:03 pm

The blog Funster Mental Floss has pictures of ten amazing playgrounds from around the world. Pictured above is the St. Kilda Adventure Playground in Port Philip, Australia. It covers four hectares of land and includes a beached pirate shipwreck and a submarine. It was built after World War II to help disadvantaged children in the area develop mentally and physically.

Link via Geek Dad

Image via flickr user Looking Glass used under creative commons license.

UPDATE 9/16/09: In the comments, Miss Cellania says that Funster copied the work of Mental Floss writer David K. Israel, so I have altered the link. Thanks for pointing this out, Miss C.

 
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Tin Man Playground by Tom Otterness

Posted by Alex in Home & Garden, Pictures on January 5, 2009 at 2:21 am


Tin man jungle gym "Playground" by Tom Otterness, photo by Kat Sterck

Sculptor Tom Otterness created this amazing bronze tin man jungle gym as a private commission. That’s one lucky kid who has his or her own Otterness creation as a playground! Link – via Super Punch

 
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