② Children’s Play And Playground
If so, I investigated what elements should be equipped to create a play environment. The United Nations Committee on Children’s Rights cited a total of 13 essential elements of the ideal play environment. In short, the condition is that there is no stress, children must be free from alienation, prejudice, danger, and adult control, children must be able to experience the natural environment and animals, and children must have an opportunity to develop their imagination.
However, there are too many obstacles in our reality to create such a play environment. First of all, the higher the enthusiasm for education, the more often adults do not value play. Also, one of the problems is that the surrounding environment is dangerous. And there is also a lack of investment in children’s culture and arts. I think that the perception of play should be changed and a healthy play environment should be created so that children’s right to play can be realized properly.
For a good play environment, I investigated the history and design of the playground.
Historically, a playground first appeared in Manchester, England in 1859, a ‘sand garden’ in Germany in 1855, and a playground with equipment such as slides and swings today in San Francisco Park in 1887. However, at this time, the playground was not a concept as a public facility. The full-fledged public playground design is an adventurous playground designed by Danish landscaper Søren in the 1930s. Public playgrounds that began in Denmark will spread to the UK and the United States, affecting the world.
Educators and philosophers played an important role in the development of playgrounds. German educators and philosophers Frederic Froebel and John Dewey of the United States were the ones who argued the need for a children’s playground the most. They emphasised that the playground is a stimulus to develop children’s physical activity, step-by-step behaviour development according to age, and creativity. Since then, the design of the playground has focused more on the design that conforms to safety and standards than on children’s physical activities or creativity, which has also been reflected in public playgrounds outside.
After the fall of socialism in the 1980s, the crisis of playground design began. The influence of capitalism’s rise, privatisation, and commercialisation also affected the playground. With safety-related laws and regulations, rides have begun to be uniformised and standardised. Playgrounds and rides soon lost their individuality, diversity, and creativity. In the 21st century, citizens and artists began to be problematic in uniform and commercialised playgrounds. Many people began to be interested in the design of the playground, and again, the playground is becoming a field of culture and art.
Recently, there is a new type of playground called pop-up playground. The concept of a pop-up playground began with destroying the concept of a playground enjoyed through a designated device in a designated place. It is a playground that started with non-profit organizations based in the UK and the United States. After renting a certain place, such as an alley in the city, for a certain period of time, children can spend free time creating something or enjoying games using various recycling tools, costumes, and art supplies. The purpose of this playground is to allow children to enjoy free and creative play on their own, leaving the boring playground environment organised by adults.
- Playgrounds and children’s play culture have been actively developed and changed over a long history. Reflecting these various changes, it creates an interesting shape.
Drawing 1 Drawing 2
The play structure that children can imagine and play is embodied in a complex spatial arrangement by varying basic shapes such as cubes, cylinders, spheres, and pyramids in various ways. In addition, each component was arranged in a unique composition in colour, size, and texture.
As the form of playgrounds such as art playgrounds, natural playscapes, and pop-up playgrounds is diversified, new design attempts are also becoming more active. Playgrounds are spaces to give children physical activities, emotional and educational effects, more research is needed in the field of playground design.
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