Oakley Playground Receives INASLA Merit Award for Constructed Projects

October 2005

Completed in the fall of 2003, the Oakley Playground in Deming Park, one of Terre Haute's most frequented parks, draws children and families from across the region. Nestled in the park's mature trees the playground serves as a model for safe, accessible play.

The following narrative accompanied the award entry.

Paving the Way for All to Play...

The story of the Oakley Playground begins with two people and a shared vision. Maralee Britton, then Superintendent of the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department, had a dream of building a playground—a play experience like few others. She envisioned children of all ages and abilities playing, learning, and growing from the experience. At the same time Sally Collett, mother to a child with severe physical disabilities, longed for a place where her daughter Jackie could interact with other children in a barrier-free play environment. In 1999 Maralee, Sally, and a small group of dedicated supporters began the journey toward realizing this vision. Over the next four years, the group sought support for the vision within the community. By the end of 2002, the effort had raised nearly $400,000 toward the construction of the playground.

Role of the Landscape Architect:

In early 2003, the Terre Haute Park Board commissioned the landscape architects to design a completely accessible playground on the site of an existing aging playground in Deming Park, one of the city's oldest, largest and most popular parks. The landscape architect was the lead designer and project manager, from schematic design through construction. The landscape architect prepared detailed Construction Documents for all site development, including in-depth coordination of custom play structure configurations, and the design of railing systems and ornamental metalwork.

Design Solution:

In response to the surrounding park features, the concept quickly evolved into much more than a playground, linking the existing parking areas and shelters with ornamental entrance gateways, perennial gardens, meandering walkways, ornamental lighting, and parent seating areas. The resulting design creates a cohesive family destination while preserving mature existing trees, topography, and architectural elements that define the park's scenic character.

Three key principals define the playground itself: inclusion, accessibility and safety. The fundamental premise of the playground is to encourage use by children of all ages and abilities—a truly inclusive environment. Accessibility, from the parking area to the play structure, is essential to a creating a universal play experience. Safety is fundamental to the design of public places, and critical to the design of today's playgrounds. The playground concept also attempts to create intuitive visitor way finding and zoning of the play experience. The playground is zoned generally by age and ability and separated into two distinct areas. The Discovery Play Area, designed for children ages two through five, offers age-appropriate activities on the primary play structure, comprised of three and four-foot high decks, and surrounding accessible ancillary play events. The Adventure Play Area, designed for children ages five through twelve, offers a more challenging environment with deck heights ranging from four to eight feet. Since the opening of the playground to the public, we have been pleasantly surprised by the number of parents that play with their children as opposed to simply observing them.

Unique Aspects:

Both play areas utilize poured-in-place resilient rubber surfacing to assure complete accessibility to all play components and the highest possible safety for users. Each elevated play structure is accessible via arcing ramps at the perimeter of the play area. The ramps are designed to provide universal, integrated entrance points to the play structures—blurring the lines between individual abilities.

Seating areas were located to allow caregivers to monitor children in both play areas and include traditional and swinging benches. Mounded lawn areas were integrated to provide opportunities for unstructured play and informal seating while defining space and creating visual interest. More than sixty native deciduous trees were planted to enhance the park's existing character while providing shade enclosure, seasonal color, and visual screening.

The design vocabulary was developed holistically, from the arch motif to the signage and color scheme. Jackie's Garden includes a bronze statue donated by her family. The statue of a young girl surrounded by butterflies is seated on a rock inscribed with the phrase "For All Dear Children." Ornamental arches, adorned with oak leaves and handprints and capped with the playground's name, frame the entrances to the area.

In October 2003, when the ribbon was cut and children ran to the playground for the first time, the vision was complete. A truly unique place had been created where children (and adults) of all ages and abilities could play, learn, and grow. Five years and countless hours in the making, the Oakley Playground stands as a great symbol of community pride for the citizens of Terre Haute—paving the way for all to play.