Please join us to explore the role of design in constructing urban environments for play and creating quality spaces for children and communities. Building on the Collaborative’s work within schoolyards, parks, and open spaces, help us discover how designers, educators, and parents can join forces to create enriching play spaces, build strong communities, and allow children to thrive and grow in the urban environment.
PRESENTATION
Susan G. Solomon, author of “The Science of Play: How to Build Playgrounds that Enhance Children’s Development”.
Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing at reception.
PANEL
Sharon Easterling - Director, Delaware Valley Association for Education of Young Children
Alex Gilliam - Director, Public Workshop
Susan G. Solomon - Curatorial Resources and Research
Meg Wise - Executive Director, Smith Playground
MODERATED BY:
Paul Vernon – Principal, KSK Architects
This event is happening in conjunction with the Center for Architecture’s CONSTRUCTING PLAY exhibit.
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The Science of Play: How to Build Playgrounds That Enhance Children’s Development
Susan G. Solomon
Links ways children thrive to the design of playgrounds
Poor design and wasted funding characterize today’s American playgrounds. A range of factors—including a litigious culture, overzealous safety guidelines, and an ethos of risk aversion—have created uniform and unimaginative playgrounds. These spaces fail to nurture the development of children or promote playgrounds as an active component in enlivening community space.
Solomon’s book demonstrates how to alter the status quo by allying data with design. Recent information from the behavioral sciences indicates that kids need to take risks; experience failure but also have a chance to succeed and master difficult tasks; learn to plan and solve problems; exercise self-control; and develop friendships. Solomon illustrates how architects and landscape architects (most of whom work in Europe and Japan) have already addressed these needs with strong, successful playground designs. Having become vibrant hubs within their neighborhoods, these play sites are models for anyone designing or commissioning an urban area for children and their families.