As always seem to be true with new construction, especially for play spaces, it takes a few years after installation to see which elements work well and which do not. My firm was hired to refurbish two play yards on the MIT campus that were completed five and 10+ years ago. This post shows part of the renovation at the Koch Center play yard.
A water play area, constructed of a raised concrete channel and loose set stones had become a problem area — children were tripping on dislodged stones and the raised concrete block wasn’t drawing much use. The redesign eliminated the water feature (except for the spigot slated for removal soon) and the area will be changed into a free-play space with soft rubber surfacing for running and triking. The existing paving stones were re-purposed into attractive edging for the rubber.
In addition, several areas in the yard needed more shade (which was cut from the original scope), two new shade sails will be installed as part of this renovation.