Playgrounds are fairly ubiquitous in most parts of the world, be they rusty swings or elaborate constructions. My own sons have clamored up wooden forts and rope bridges in upstate New York where they were born; metal piping in the shape of a plane fuselage in Costa Rica where they grew up; and inventive, child friendly park structures in Paris where we lived as well…not to mention any and all trees, stone walls and Mayan temples they would find in between.
In 2009 Japanese architectural firm Tezuka Architects teamed up with renowned Japanese crochet artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam to create a play space both uniquely charming and innovative, that even the most “Global Citizen” of children would be amazed by.
Woods of Net, a pavilion for the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Sapporo Japan is like an upturned basket constructed entirely out of wooden beams like a giant scaled Lincoln Log creation. The sense of play continues with the colorful play network within.
Playscapes has included a priceless quotation from Ms. Horiuchi MacAdam on the story behind the shift of her work from “Art” to “Playscapes”:
It all happened quite by accident. Two children had entered the gallery where she was exhibiting ‘Multiple Hammock No. 1’ and, blissfully unaware of the usual polite protocols that govern the display of fine art, asked to use it. She watched nervously as they climbed into the structure, but then was thrilled to find that the work suddenly came alive in ways she had never really anticipated. She noticed that the fabric took on new life – swinging and stretching with the weight of the small bodies, forming pouches and other unexpected transformations, and above all there were the sounds of the undisguised delight of children exploring a new play space.
We don’t need to dig too deeply to find happiness in the word “play”, but it’s a great reminder to look at its Middle Dutch roots, meaning “leap for joy”; and exploration and joy create an unmatchable combination.
Organikos 