children
S.R. Smith (Canby, OR) has launched SlideAway, a CPSC-compliant slide for inground pools that does…
Water Odyssey (San Marcos, TX) has introduced Fun Forms Aqua Slides for use in aquatic-play…
Goric Marketing Group USA (Belmont, MA) offers the Newtown Water Play System, a structure made…
As I wrote in a recent blog ("The Way-Back Machine," September 23), I envy you if you live in a community where your public pools are still being used to teach people of all ages (and especially children) to swim. It means that kids in your area are able to discover swimming in capable, confidence-building environments - the sort of supportive circumstances that were found just about everywhere
Founded in 1634, Boston Common is the oldest public park in America - a significant and historic public place. It is familiar to us as Bostonians, of course, but we've also been privileged as a firm to have worked there before, when we renovated the park's main watershape, the Frog Pond, to serve as a splash pool in summer and as an ice-skating rink in winter. During the pond renovation, we learned that tackling projects in such storied surroundings can be a tall order. For example, we had to place all of the pond's chillers and pumping equipment underground to mask any obvious intrusion on the 17th-century space. As we approached a second major project - this time the renovation of the park's playground - we knew going in that those who hired us were keenly sensitive to the nature of the place and came armed with preconceptions about colors, images and what would be "appropriate" for the setting. To keep things moving, we worked very closely with the city's Historic Commission in establishing the color palette, procuring artwork and developing an overall plan that would result in a space that was attractive and safe for children and suited to the surroundings. To be sure, the negotiations were intense as we
When clients call me in to design their backyards, one of the main things many of them want is a safe environment for their children. I've always thought of myself as a big kid at heart and also look at things as a father, so I've always felt confident and fully prepared meet my clients' desires while creating spaces that really work for kids. How little we sometimes know! After reading A Child's Garden: Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents by Molly Dannenmnaier (Simon & Schuster, 1998), it's now clear to me just how much more can be done in watershape and garden spaces to engage children of all ages. Indeed, this book showed me that there's much, much more to designing for children than
