Project Tunnel Vision - Playground Co-Creation

description

Project Tunnel Vision implemented several activities to see what does and does not work in co-creating with children. An activity booklet was tested, along with playground building with shapes and pieces, an obstacle course and fort building session in a gymnastics studio, as well as in-playground play and game making. Some activities were distracting, some outcomes were predictable, and some activities were very surprising. One thing was certain about the co-creation activities: that simply being around the children gave the design team immense insight into how they play and see the world.

A playground was designed given the input from both the co-creation and secondary research. Ideally this playground would be designed piece-by-piece by the children, but unfortunately the activities need much refinement before this can happen. Some aspects of the design inspired by the co-creation include the promotion of power dynamics, which are crucial to role play and make believe; enclosures, which can act as caves, tunnels, tubes, and bunkers providing dynamic play spaces; patterns, which ground movement and give purpose to game creation; and fantasy, incorporating elements from children’s everyday life. Incorporating nature into a play space is also crucial given the growing amount of research on the positive effects of nature on children. The playground also features a climber that encourages exposure to risk for this has been proven to be increasingly important in the mental development of children.