©WEi
Raising a child close to nature
It is to raise a rebel, a dreamer, an innovator
A man who walks the path of his own life
- Nicole Wright Soder
1 Shenzhen Pingshan Children's Park / WEi Studio
Inside a Litchi forest in Shenzhen Pingshan district, located a “Big Tree Academy” – for all “off-leash kids”. The existing site represents a myriad of landscape types: mountain slopes, scarps, dense Litchi forest, giant banian trees, and tall Eucalyptus trees. The design borrows form and character of the site’s existing characters, integrating and embedding play & learning experiences into the park – all on a natural setting. The park aspires to be a fun, adventurous and safe place for kids of all ages, cultivating their curiosities, resilience, and self-reliance.
In a lychee forest in Shenzhen's Pingshan District, lies a "Big Tree Academy" – for all "uninhibited children". The existing site represents a myriad of landscape types: hillsides, scars, dense lychee forests, huge plantain trees and tall eucalyptus trees. The design draws on the existing forms and features of the site, incorporating play and learning experiences into the park – all in a natural setting. The park wants to be a fun, adventurous and safe place for kids of all ages, nurturing curiosity, resilience, and self-reliance.
The First Nature-themed Children's Park in Shenzhen
Shenzhen's first nature-themed children's park
Pingshan Children's Park is located in Shahu Community, Biling Street, Pingshan District, covering an area of about 57,000 square meters, south of the Maluan Mountain Scenic Area, mature community life and beautiful natural scenery.
As the first district-level special children's park in Shenzhen, the park adheres to the concept of natural ecology, natural recreation and nature education, and creates a natural amusement park of "mountain and water interdependence", "teaching in fun", "Linxi adventure" and "creative habitat".
The park's relationship with surrounding cities
Low-intervention design with natural strategies
Low-intervention design under natural strategies
The park adheres to the concept of respecting and protecting nature, makes full use of the original topography and mountain resources of the site, and preserves the characteristics of the original natural mountain and plant community diversity to the greatest extent.
Natural modification with low intervention
In accordance with the principle of original ecology, near nature and less tree migration, the park completely retains the original lychee forest within the construction area, and through the bottom vegetation combing, supplemented by balance beam and other facilities, it creates a parent-child play space under the forest for children to play, rest and climb. Make use of the natural trend of the mountain to create popular science wetlands, rain gardens, and ecological dry streams, and integrate the natural ecological laws into children's education.
Forest School Nature Playground
Daiki Gakuen Nature Playground
The Internet age has almost made us a new species that has completely broken with nature, coupled with the fierce wave of urbanization and dangerous environmental pollution, our children will become the "last children in the forest", lacking the opportunity to get close to nature. In the past human childhood, children climbed mountains and trees in nature, so uncomfortable.
In order to let the children return to nature and rebuild the connection with nature, Pingshan Children's Park takes "Big Tree Academy" as the core design theme to build a unique wild park in the city. Understand the life around you, maximize your senses, and promote free exploration and creativity while playing.
Multi-themed Gaming Experiences
Multi-theme gaming experience
The park combines the existing natural base and activity content to create different theme play zones.
The Jungle Adventure Zone uses the site's original mountain terrain to create a richer and more interesting children's space, which brings complexity and challenge, increases children's curiosity and exploration, and encourages children to develop their abilities in acceptable adventures.
Aerial view of the jungle adventure area
Fantastic glide on a natural zipline
The nature classroom area teaches fun through natural language, allowing children to learn and understand nature in natural play. Build the space needed by children's nature, help children grow emotionally, socially, intellectually and learn from each other, stimulate children's sensory training, and enhance children's natural imprint.
The crawling trampoline and pedestrian system overlap to form an interesting little space
The mountain forest valley area is the core area of the park's operation and management, and the Qingqing Grass Children's Study Room is not only the guardian of the forest, but also a leisure venue to serve citizens and children's science popularization. Through the commercial operation of cafes and souvenir halls, the popularity of the park itself can be effectively increased, and at the same time, it also provides basic support for the park's self-profit and renewal.
Rainwater purifies wetlands based on the mountainous topography
Climbing frames and swings are children's favorite facilities
Natural Sensory Experiences
Natural sensory experience
The use of wood, stone and plenty of natural materials stimulates touch and stimulation; Restore diverse ecosystems so that birds and frogs are part of experiencing nature. Playful interactions such as trees, stumps, stones, water, sand and ropes enhance children's perception of real natural materials.
The park adopts the treatment method of natural concealment, and integrates the landscape construction and amusement facilities into the natural environment to the greatest extent. Look up at the mountains and listen to the birdsong. Let children play and release themselves in the natural environment, and build a connection and identity with nature. As Wordsworth said: "Taking nature as a teacher", the natural nature education of Big Tree Academy will stimulate children's love of nature and the spirit of free exploration that will benefit them for life.
2 Jesse Owens, France / Espace Libre
The Urban Park Jesse Owens, located in Grand-Couronne (France) and inaugurated in 2018, is a space open to all ages, with areas dedicated to sports practice, plays, and relaxation; hence it achieves its goal urban park. With a sports area that was completely enclosed, one of the significant challenges of the project was the creation of a public space where the different areas of the town were connected.
Inaugurated in 2018 in Grande Curone, Rouen, France, the Jesse Owens City Park is a space open to all ages and with areas dedicated to sports, games and leisure, fulfilling the goal of an urban park. As the original sports grounds were completely enclosed, one of the major challenges faced by the project was to create a public space that would connect different areas of the town.
Today, the city park reorganizes the sidewalk system, avoiding confusion between pedestrians and private homes. In the same way, the entrance to the park is designed to control the flow of people and vehicles, making it safe and easy to transfer. The project adapts the existing urban grid of Greater Curone and in the future can be linked to nearby public spaces.
The venue has a huge height difference in character, and the limitations of the terrain have instead become a source of inspiration for the designers, who shaped the space into a play area for people of different ages.
The huge height difference of the venue itself brings challenges, but also gives more possibilities
The slide is built along the mountain. Teens benefit from a multifunctional sports area where they can fulfill all their dream of playing games they want to try. The game facilities face breathtaking scenery and allow for indulgence as well as contemplation and meditation. There are no restrictions that the park wants to give through its design.
Resources:
https://www.weistudio.net/pingshan-children-park
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/urADxUNL--gahGWa0GK78g
https://landezine.com/urban-park-jesse-owens-by-espace-libre/
This article was translated and compiled by the Institute for Sustainable Landscapes
For reprints or any form of citation, please contact the Sustainable Landscape Institute
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