Prepared by The Play Practice for Edinburgh City Council October 2013
Understanding your brief Edinburgh City Council requested that we prepare a design for a play park at Northfield Drive. The target age group is 3 to 11 year olds and the budget allocated for supply and installation of equipment and fencing is 60,000. The site is on sloping ground and has a number of underground services that must be considered when preparing designs. Two possible sites have been identified with Site 1 being the preferred option.
The site We have prepared a design for the preferred Site 1 The site is an area of open grassland within a housing development. It is fenced in part with a metal post and bar railing. The site slopes from north to south by approximately 1.5m. The space is bounded to the north and west by a public footway, to the east by an access road to the car park, which is situated to the south. Site 2, an area of open grassland, lies to the west of the site. The site is overlooked by housing on all sides. Underground services The site has a number of underground services concentrated in the western corner of the site. Of particular note is a gas main running through the western end of the space. The contractor appointed to construct the park will be required to scan for services prior to excavation. Date of site Visit 11.09.13
Our Proposal Organisation of Space We have proposed the creation of a level space at the foot of the slope. This is achieved by cutting into the ground and retaining the slope with timber vertical timber logs. As deeper excavations are required for the log wall we have allowed a gap at the western end where underground services are present. A raised loose-fill pit is proposed at the eastern end of the site with the remainder of the space surfaced with wetpour rubber. New fencing is proposed around the perimeter of the site, roughly following the line of the existing fencing that is to be removed. A pedestrian gate is proposed at the south-west corner where there is an existing public footway. We have also included a double leaf maintenance gate to allow access for grass cutting. A Spinner Bowl, Hopper seesaw and Stinger springie provide solo and group rocking and rotating play activities. Swinging is an essential element to any play space. To make the best use of space we have specified a swing frame with 1 flat and 1 cradle seat to cater for all users. Safer Surfacing Playchip and EPDM wetpour are specified for this site. The playchip surfacing is specified at 300mm depth and located with a raised pit formed from vertical timber logs. The wetpour surfacing is specified at various depths to suit equipment fall height. We have used black wetpour with bold colourful graphics. Furniture Two Iroko benches with backrests and a galvanised steel bin are specified within the play space. Equipment Providing a focal point to the space is our bespoke designed Imaginator activity unit. This unit caters for children from 2 to 12 years and is ideally suited to this small site as it provides a wealth of play activities within a small footprint. We have included a corocord climbing net located within a raised loose-fill pit. The Octa net is 3.85 high and provides a climbing challenge for children from 3 years. We have added 4 membranes to the net which allow children to sit and rest on their way up to the top.
The Play Equipment: An essential ingredient in a challenging and dynamic play area is of course the play equipment. Particularly for this site, we have chosen to specify IMAGINATOR, ELEMENTS & COROCORD. All products specified have been carefully chosen to provide many advantages; low maintenance, environmentally friendly, durable and high quality. The play equipment selected offer: inclusive play opportunities; are innovative and challenging; are flexible, enabling individual children or many children to play together in many different ways; offer numerous different and alternative play experiences, probably not available in other nearby locations. As a result, both children from the local community and those visiting from further afield will find much to enjoy, encouraging them and their parents to return time and time again.
KOMPAN Castle Theme Activity Unit GSP-Custom Bespoke activity unit catering for children aged 2 to 12 years, developed in consultation with Edinburgh City Council. This fun castle structure offers high density physical and role play with its classic castle theme and physical activities that stimulate motor skills such as cross body coordination and sense of space. The structure is composed of 3 towers of differing height. The smallest tower is segregated from the taller two by a play panel with interactive game. Younger children can access this platform using the stairs and slide down to ground level on the 0.9m high slide. Multi User Age Range 2-12 Balancing Climbing Crawling Swinging Sliding Imaginative Games Social Play The middle tower can be accessed by traverse climbing along a 2.2m high climbing net. This tower has two sets of binoculars to keep watch over the playground and an interactive panel game. A step up takes you to the tallest platform or alternatively you may scale the vertical climbing wall. Once at the higher levels there is a choice of taking a view of the play area or zipping down to ground level on the 1.5m high slide. On ground level of the castle a rocking hammock provides a place to stop and relax.
Smooth PPC steel posts Aluminium fixing clamps HDPE Panels with maximum UV stability & lifetime warranty Steel cored ropes Northfield Drive Edinburgh 2.2m Climbing net 1.5m Climbing wall Activity Panel with ring game Binoculars x 2 Below deck hammock Ladder 1.2m Stairs 1.2m 0.9m Stainless steel slide 1.5m Stainless steel slide
KOMPAN Small Octa Net COR7140 Mirror images have a certain magic. This goes for the magician s stage just as it does for playing in the Corocord Octa Nets. The fascinating rope play equipment is designed as two Spacenets that are reflected at the base to make a doubly ingenious Spacenet. A particularly elaborate bracing with outside and inside masts reliably supports the double pyramid. The upper tip of the filigree Spacenet structure stretches into the sky while the bottom tip mysteriously vanishes in the ground. At the heart of the Octa Nets, a very large number of truncated octahedrons invite children to climb and offer a variety of adventures. 4 seat membranes have been added to this octa net to provide places to sit with friends and look out over the play space. DDA accessible Multi User Age Range 3+ Climbing Crawling Scrambling Hanging Jumping Social Play Child seating
KOMPAN Hopper Seesaw ELE400022 The Hopper adds fun to any playground. Taking the traditional seesaw a few steps further, the Hopper includes two pods in different colours with space in between for more kids to join in. Taking cues from each other, each child tries to reach new heights by transferring movement to the opposite side. DDA accessible Multi User Age Range 3+ Rocking Balancing Social Play
KOMPAN Stinger Springer ELE400020 The Stinger will bring a buzz and plenty of smiles as children mount the curved form of the pod and hold on for a rocking fun time. Leaning from one side to the other will be a breeze when they place their feet on the sturdy footrest and their hands on the controls, imagining intergalactic chases and zipping around corners. The antenna at the back is a great manipulative tail that rattles with each movement and wags with each lunge. DDA accessible Age Range 2+ Rocking Balancing Imaginative games
KOMPAN Spinner Bowl ELE400024 Kids of all ages love to spin (and make themselves dizzy) and the Spinner Bowl certainly makes the world go round and round! Hop in; pump your legs and sit and spin. By using centrifugal force and weight distribution the speeds can be controlled, and stopping is a breeze. The Spinner Bowl secures the young child in its generous depth and helps train their balance. Older or larger children can sit in it with their legs hanging over and spin as fast as they dare! Sit Spin Great balance trainer DDA accessible Age Range 4-15 Rotating Balancing Child Seating
KOMPAN 2.5m Galvanised Swing Frame 1 flat + 1 cradle seat KSW90014-0909 A classic piece of playground equipment. Children love the excitement and relaxation of swinging through the air with the wind in their faces giving them that feeling of freedom. Teenagers, (particularly girls) enjoy just sitting chatting on the swings and using them as a place to gossip. A standard flat seat for all users and a cradle seat for younger children is specified on this frame. Pre-School children take the opportunity to feel light and free when flying through the air. The design of the cradle seats mean they are safely seated, whether they are swinging alone or maybe together with a best friend - sitting next to each other, singing in time, or competing to swing the highest. These swings are particularly robust as the frame is constructed from galvanised steel. DDA accessible Age Range 1+ / 3+ Swinging Child Seating