The playground brings inspired interaction with nature to the forefront while also reflecting the Park’s Edwardian Architecture. Natural elements are at a premium, with tunnels of growing willow, a fallen log bridge, rolling grass hills integrated with modern rubber surfaces, giant playground nests and a plethora of interactive water features with sand and stones. Formal children’s gardens with topiaries, large basket swings and a large slide hill transform into a winter wonderland with snow forts, hills, toboggan slides, ice sculptures and outdoor fire pits. This dynamic mix of play experiences challenge and inspire children to explore more deeply through all ages of development.

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SMM approached the conceptual design of the park in tandem with child educators and play specialists to understand the physical, intellectual, and interactive facets that make strong, emblematic parks engaging for children. Building on the historic site assets, SMM further refined that vision into an animated nature and adventure play environment that respected existing conditions and sensitively inserted the program elements into a vegetated pocket of the park; preserving mature trees while still achieving the ultimate goal of embedding a contemporary approach to play for the 21st century. By putting all the ‘play’ principles into practice and moving beyond conventional structures, the nature playground has elevated play design for both our firm and our contemporaries and brought the inner child out in everyone. In addition to a diverse range of play equipment, the park includes a sand and water play area that allows kids to dam the water flow and redirect the channels – an element that has become the most popular destination throughout the year.

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Our extent of work continued past the Nature playground to provide oversight to the Qualico Family Centre and duck pond expansion.

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Awards:

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2015 CLSA Regional Award

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