Recess will always be the best part of school.
When I was younger I loved recess. I loved the swings and the jungle gym; but after a while they lost their luster. There's only so much you can do on those things. My best recess memories were made without the aid of those metal structures. Me and my friends often came up with games and scenarios involving things found laying around or even nothing at all. We used our imaginations. Novel idea, huh?
Designer David Rockwell has taken notice of such non-structured recess play. He has developed a playground that promotes free play versus jungle gyms and swing sets that emphasize motor skills. Rockwell utilized basic elements such as building blocks, sand, water, and found objects in his 21st century, multi-level play space.
"It's the same thing you would have in the country with a hill or a series of rocks," Rockwell says, "It's space to explore."
Rockwell's playground, a figure eight shape, draws inspirations from famed architect Louis Kahn and sculptor Isamu Noguchi's 1960s design for New York's Riverside Park; which was never built.
It's an old concept with a new implemention. Building blocks help children develop cognitive and social skills. Rockwell's play space provides children with dense, oddly shapped, over-sized, germ-resistent blocks to create with. Rockwell will also include "found objects" such as milk crates and pool noodles, as well as scaffolding structures and drop cloths for making forts.
This 21st centruy playground brings the rural resources to the urban setting. Running water and a shallow pool provide children with the idea of playing in a real pond or creek. The water can be contolled by damming it up or diverting it to make water falls.
The first Imagination Playground is under construction in Lower Manhattan and is expected to be finished within the next year.
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