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Sanjay Gangal
Sanjay Gangal is the President of IBSystems, the parent company of AECCafe.com, MCADCafe, EDACafe.Com, GISCafe.Com, and ShareCG.Com. Five Fields Play Structure in Lexington, Massachusetts by Matter Design + FR|SCH ProjectsMarch 17th, 2017 by Sanjay Gangal
Article source: Matter Design This play structure is situated on the sloping landscape of a mid-century modern common land, where neighborhood kids enjoy a shared backyard. The Architects Collaborative designed and developed the Five Fields neighborhood in the early 1950s hoping to foster community by creating a piece of shared common land. In the ensuing 60+ years homeowners have come and gone but the community and its care and appreciation for the common land remain. TAC conceived the neighborhood as an experiment and the community, wishing to keep the experimental spirit alive, requested a structure that is both safe and exhilarating for the kids. They wanted something that would challenge the kids without any singularly functional elements.  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects
 Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects Designing a play structure intended for kids is a unique and challenging project. While there are irreducible standards that manage accessibility and function in the daily lives of adults, play is neither standard nor strictly functional. For this reason, these spaces are accessible to adults, but have been shrunk in order to slow the adults, liberating the kids to fly through the spaces.  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects The project is also dedicated to imagination, resisting literal and singular readings. Twenty-foot tall vertical elements contribute to the structure at one moment, but extend into the landscape—from function to whimsy. The colorful graphics suggest entries and key moments, without overtly labeling them. Pre-conceived architectural elements like doors and stairs do exist, but lead to nowhere. Thresholds are tucked under levitating volumes balanced on a single wall. Another principle of the design strategy provides multiple means of access to any location. These decisions produce escalating challenges for the kids; mitigating risk and ensuring the correct age-range have access to the more treacherous areas instead of withholding them entirely. Older kids climb over while younger crawl under.  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects About MATTER DESIGN Matter Design is an interdisciplinary design practice founded in 2008 by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Their shared interest in design coupled with proficiency in the means and methods of production have led Clifford and McGee to collaborate on a range of experimental projects which break conventional disciplinary notions of scale. Matter Design was recently awarded the Design Biennial Boston award and the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. In addition, the principals are currently faculty at the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects About FR|SCH Projects FR|SCH Projects is an architecture and design studio founded by Michael Schanbacher and Kerri Frick. They see architecture as something greater than building. Creating spaces, which connect to and enrich the lives of the people that use them. It is through a combination of spatial design, research, and an understanding of place that they define their work. They see architecture as a collaboration. Not just a collaboration of clients, architects, and builders, but also a collaboration of site, landscape, and culture. Michael Schanbacher is currently an architect at Embarc Studio in Boston while Kerri Frick is the Director of Intermediate Architecture Studios at the Boston Architectural College.  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects  Image Courtesy © Matter Design + FR|SCH Projects
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Tags: Massachusetts, USA Category: Playground |
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