Miller Company Landscape Architects was selected to design Beresford Park Playground in San Mateo, Calif., in 2013 when the original playground fell into disrepair. After consultations with the surrounding community, it was agreed that the renovation should present a new vision and entail an entirely new, state-of-the-art, custom playground. An extensive public outreach effort was made to generate ideas for the design, which resulted in feedback from over 100 community members regarding their visions for the play area. The design team was tasked to translate this input and address a program that would reference a significant cultural element from the local area's history, a focus on nature, and a design that would provide a stimulating recreational experience for multi-generational use and enjoyment.

The new playground, which opened in August 2016, is set in its natural environment of east-sloping hills lightly forested by redwoods and other native trees. It was important to the theme of the play environment that it be gently sited and placed into the existing topography. A 4-foot tall concrete retaining wall that existed in the old play area was removed and the site was re-graded so that the new play area would sit naturally into the site.

 

The architectural elements that make this play area unique are three wooden towers that rise to varying heights in the center the playground. The towers evoke the villages of the indigenous California Miwok tribe and set the cultural theme. The interiors of the towers support distinctive play experiences. One tower contains a timber climbing maze resembling a cluster of giant 'pickup sticks,' which introduces balance, strength, and navigation challenges not found in a climbing grid with regular spacing. A vertical rope column is designed into the second tower challenging children to reach the upper platform areas helping to develop upper body strength. A winding stairway set inside the third tower provides access to the 80' long wavy net climber called the "Net Serpent" that meanders into the open area of the playground. Playground lookouts in the towers serve as platform entry points for two spiraling stainless steel tube slides that descend to ground level. The towers are connected with monkey bars and webbed bridges. Each tower provides accessible external climbing walls and ground level play events as well. Other play features include swings for children young and old, and a custom play structure for tots. Venturing into "Spin City," children are engaged by a variety of whirling play equipment configured for different age groups.

All of the metal, plastics, and wood used in the play equipment is made of recycled content or renewable resource materials. The locally obtained boulders that surround the play area, metal fencing, and masonry seat walls with bands of colorful tile are not only durable and maintainable but they also support the overall natural and cultural theme of the play area. The large boulders set within the playground promote imaginative, free form, social spaces and play activities, while the natural rock placed at the edges of the playground were sited to merge seamlessly into the park's sloping topography, spacious lawns, and redwood trees.

To further support the theme and design concept evoking a Miwok Indian Village, a varied palette of native plant materials surrounds the playground. Sages, grasses, Monkey Flower, California fuchsia and Ceanothus have been planted, attracting butterflies and birds to the area. Shaded picnic areas were created at each end of the playground to accommodate parents, caregivers, and other park visitors with a comfortable location to enjoy the park and observe the play area. Trees were carefully placed to provide shade within the play area and provide a windbreak from the cool western winds that come over the nearby coastal mountains in the late afternoons.

The irrigation system for the new landscape is a sustainably designed subsurface in-line emitter system which conserves water. Another important element of the project was that the lighting was converted to LED, improving the safety of the area while saving energy.

The renewed Beresford Park Playground with its trio of towering structures has become a beacon for the community. The outlooks serve a new generation conscious of the cultural memory of the indigenous native history and the conservation of our scarce resources.