Playground by the Creek
Location : Bengaluru, India
Tools: Hand- Drafting, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign
Brief: A community playground with emphasis on the users' interaction with indigenous nature.
The brief of this project was to study the public life of a given area and then use a ground- up approach to design a new space, responding to the needs of the local populace.
I chose to work with the Hebbal lake, which had a rich biological ecosystem as well as public history. The demographic that I kept in mind were children from the age of 5- 15, who inhabited this largely residential area, and the migratory and residential birds of the existing lake park.
As an initiative to understand the community and the target group better, I conducted workshops with two schools to explore how they understand play spaces, and what they expect from the same. I used tools like, drawings, building blocks and polls to understand the kids' expectations from their play spaces.
Insights from the exercise, and further research led me to create a play space for the kids with the intent of creating curiosity within the kids to explore the lake and all the information it has to offer further. In a way, the playgrounds would act as a mediator between the kids and the lake, both physically as well as information-wise.
All of the playgrounds are created with specific elements of the lake in mind.
One of the major activities of the local populace, is bird watching at the lake. So, I created a ramp which could be accessed universally, and would help the kids get introduced to the activity. It also houses a rock- climbing wall for the times when bird watching isn't possible.
One of the most popular activities at the lake, was bird watching. The ramp allows the visitors to witness the birds, while being universally accessible. The structure also houses a rock- climbing wall which can be used simultaneously. The grill of the ramp has depictions of birds that are commonly seen in and around the lake.
Swipe further to see the technical drawings.
The Nest Maze was inspired by the nests of birds which call the lake, home. As one navigates through the maze, a central structure of a bird guides their way. The structure uses repurposed pipes to makes its walls. Keeping in mind that the structure would be used by young kids, the walls are kept porous, so that the kids do not feel 'trapped' at any point.
Swipe further to see the technical drawings.
The tree playground is a play of levels and hide and seek. The re-purposed windows, glass bottles as well as stones serve as stimulants for play time.
Swipe further to see the technical drawings.
The sand pit is a peek into the underwater world. Gear mechanisms let the kids move the fishes on the ceiling, thus introducing them to the marine life and its movement. The roof has stained glass, which further simulates the underwater experience.
Swipe further to see the technical drawings.
One of the aims of this project was to work in collaboration with the target group. Hence, I had to create a way of communicating the above designs to children and earn their feedback. I chose to make a pop- up book to narrate a story to the kids, which would engage them better than static models.
Version 2
I recently had the chance to revisit this site, and redesign the project, this time with a parametric bend of mind. The following is what I came up with:
