Project Description

St Xavier’s Loyola’s Kindergarten School needed their playgrounds to be landscaped and refurbished. As usual, the project was done on pro bono basis, with a very limited budget and tight timelines. At the outset the HCPID team decided on an approach designed to get the kids to motivated and involved in outdoor activities but without compromising on a creating “a sense of place.” The role of playing in enabling and engendering learning and creativity is widely recognized. We therefore also, like kids, played around with multiple ideas that evolved into a design that do a good job as capturing a sense of play and fun, in a landscape incorporating plantations, pathways and small lunch areas, and of course sand pits, see-saws, tunnel, swings, slides and a raised platform suitable for storytelling. Choice and custom design of all playground equipment is based on current understanding of 5-7 year olds preferences for activities and colours taking into account safety and ergonomics issues. This designed playground represents a dynamic space for a series of adventurous and explorative activities. However, within the sequence of these activities, pause points are providing opportunities for the children to develop a more reflective relationship with surroundings environment.