Located in a quiet corner of bustling downtown Boston, the school had previously used the Boston Common for outdoor activities, but this was no longer an option. The school tasked the landscape architecture firm with transforming an underutilized, 1,500 square foot lot in front of the school's entrance, into a safe and vibrant haven for the nursery school students. The firm eagerly met the challenges and constraints of this fast-tracked design project, seeing it as an opportunity to bring some joy and brightness to a school in need during very uncertain times.

Even in this minimal square footage, the firm aimed to design a space that would engage the children in many types of play: active, sensory, creative, imaginative, social, and reflective. Key to this process was a thoroughly integrated design collaboration between the landscape architect, the school, a local artist, and the contractor. All parties worked closely together to idealize and realize a space that would function to enrich the minds and bodies of the preschoolers who were to use the space.

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Being in the middle of the city, in a vulnerable area, the client had some specific safety concerns around the project. As a security precaution, the playground required a 6-foot-high solid fence around the entirety of the site perimeter. Instead of a bland, uninspired enclosure, the landscape architect pictured a "magical threshold" that could transport the visitor to another world and collaborated with a local artist to ensure this vision succeeded. The outside of the unique, artistic wood fence sparks interest and intrigue; its carved and stained slats depict the skyline of a mysterious city and green forest beyond. From the inside, the enclosure helps one feel safe, and protected. Occasional small openings allow children to look out and surprise passers-by.

The entirety of the playground paving is permeable, poured-in-place rubber with a colorful custom design featuring flowers, clouds, mounds, and woodlands. The ground surface pattern designates different play areas and links them via harmonious, closed loop path. Along the path, the children can create a variety of experiences: explore two play mounds, cross a river by jumping between and walking on wood logs, venture through a tunnel, chat on a bench, climb or slide down the side of the mound, get dirty hands in the sand pit, or gather on a flowering field to play some more!

The two green play mounds center the project, extruding upwards from the bevy of ground color, like islands in the sea. Designed for a multitude of active play types, the mounds drive the overall flow of the space. The larger mound, ten feet in diameter, has a tunnel made from reclaimed concrete pipe running through it, to be used as a hideout or a shortcut. The "summit" can be reached in several ways, encouraging varied physical development and coordination: one can jump, use the climbing holds or traverse the stepping logs. The smaller mound, four feet in diameter, presents a more acceptable challenge for younger children, featuring a seat and a balance beam that connects the two mounds.

Organically sprinkled across the site are black locust logs of different shapes and sizes, clustered in response to the graphic ground plane. These are used in a variety of ways: as stepping logs, a balance beam, the border of the sand pit and stools. The natural wood element gives a warm, comforting character to the space and provides a contrast to the rubber play surface.

Though a very small space, Spruce Street Playground was designed and constructed with the highest dedication to an important mission, in close collaboration with childcare professionals. The space aims to expand children's physical abilities and to stimulate their imaginations and thirst for exploration. This playground adds a bounty of bright color to the originally barren streetscape and creates a lively, magical world for children in the city center.


The upcoming Playgrounds Issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. This project was not chosen for a Feature in the issue, but we at LandscapeArchitect.com thought the project deserved to be showcased online . . .

Team:

Landscape Architecture: Ground, Inc.
Text Author: Yinan Liu
Photography: Chuck Choi