At Long-View, we don’t have a playground – and that’s by design. In the middle of each school day, we walk, with our lunches in hand, to spend an hour at a public park, where we run, climb, banter and pretend, unconstrained in our visions of how to play.

But lately, we’ve found ourselves thinking about the value of playgrounds to a wider community. In a series of Campfires in early October, we inquired into the history and function of several types. From “adventure playgrounds” that encourage “risky play,” to the highly designed structures and spaces brought to life in local projects like Fortlandia or the work of the Danish playground design firm MONSTRUM, places designated for play have a unique role in a community. In MONSTRUM’s words, “a great playground should be a gathering place sparking the imagination and challenging all visitors to create the best play experience for themselves.” All this inquiry led up to the big reveal on Thursday, October 12: for Build Week 16, we would be designing playgrounds! Learners began by considering MONSTRUM’s “Three Major Principles of Inclusive Design”….

build weekLisa ZapalacOctober 25, 2023Long-View Micro Schoolarchitecture, drawing, experts, playgrounds, design, public speaking