Kenton is HERE!

The fine team at Walker Macy worked with TimberForm on this wonderful new playground for Portland Parks. Take a look at the exciting new photos! More to come…

Custom TimberForm at Columbia Tech Center - Vancouver, WA

TimberForm Classic

Ben Johnson and the creative Team at Greenworks designed this unique custom playspace for Tech Center in Vancouver. 

The creative process that started (as all great projects do) with a simple paper and pencil sketch really came alive.  The fine craftspeople at TimberForm took on the custom project and delivered a structure better than anything we could imagine.

This playspace had all the calling cards of Nature Play with the unique ability to blend traditional sliding and climbing.  I love the challenge of the equipment, the netting, the stainless and the boulders.  

Thank you for letting me be a part of this project.

What more do you want out of a playground?  Head there with the kids, go visit, play, and drink a beer at Hopworks (nearby) afterwards.  You will be so glad you did.

Arthur Academy

Take the time to view a recent RePlay play community build structure for David Douglas Arthur Academy here in Portland.  Columbia produced this fantastic video which shows the hard work and fun that makes for a successful community build.  Enjoy the show!

Arthur Academy is now accepting applications for enrollment for 2019.  Check it out at https://ddaa.arthuracademy.org/.

Fun Japanese Playgrounds

I am so excited to share these fabulous night photos of anthropomorphic Japanese Playground equipment by Kito Jujio. 

COLOSSAL has some of greatest design and art content available and I love how it takes Playground as a serious artistic medium.  Do you have any great playground photos?  Send them my way!

Missing See-Saws

Traditional See-Saws have seemed to be losing popularity on playgrounds. 

As we encourage our children to use cooperation, I remember a see-saw as the ultimate cooperation test.  Anyone else remember the trust of getting on and off a see-saw?  A good friend would set it down nice and easy for you and bad friend would jump off and leave you to slam to the ground.  See-Saws were also perfect balance exercises.  I remember running up one side, down the other and balancing the beam in between?

Is it time to bring it back?

Photo Courtesy of OregonLive at Washington Park - Portland

Memphis Design in Play

The passing of David Bowie has had me re-thinking the work of the often maligned design work of Memphis Group.  Bowie was a great collector of this often garish and frequently uncomfortable design.  Can these bright colors and bold graphics have a lasting place for playground or site furniture?  Lately we have seen a resurgence of Ocean Teal on the playground.  

Pink / orange / blue / black / white ... what's next? 

Vintage 1980s PipeLine playground by Columbia Cascade.  Ready for a comeback?