A Dozen Playgrounds

A Dozen PlaygroundsA Dozen Playgrounds proposes to recuperate playgrounds as space for children, central to the living fabric of the city. Building on the tradition of a neighborhood centric approach to learning and playing, A Dozen Playgrounds positions the grounds of Detroits Elementary Public Schools (K 6), as key nodes of social infrastructure where the citys ambitions for education, community and citizenship overlap. This study presents a visual catalog of the

ÒA Dozen PlaygroundsÓ proposes to recuperate playgrounds as space for children, central to the living fabric of the city. Building on the tradition of a neighborhood centric approach to learning and playing, A Dozen Playgrounds positions the grounds of DetroitÕs Elementary Public Schools (K-6), as key nodes of social infrastructure where the cityÕs ambitions for education, community and citizenship overlap. This study presents a visual catalog of the evolution and current state of the Elementary Public School Playgrounds and renders the fragile condition of the built environment that constructs childrenÕs imagination at such early ages.
Four schools were identified as sites for prototypical playgrounds; the iterative designs for these sites examine three different approaches towards designing interfaces between landscape and urbanism, overlaid with a concern for the natural environment.