DESIGNING PLAYFUL AND INCLUSING SPACES
Play is one of the greatest learning tools that a child may experience; yet standard public outdoor modular playgrounds exclude all but able-bodied children. The needs of children and supervising adults are the same whatever their level of ability in terms of accessibility, social interaction and safety. Since March 2004 this inclusive design philosophy has been used as an innovative educational tool and a realistic full year project for design students at the University of Otago, in New Zealand. This project is part of a deeper research on designing playful and inclusive spaces. Inspired by the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, several issues concerning social play behaviour and cognitive development are currently being investigated. The goal is to develop a planning methodology for designing playgrounds that are accessible, stimulating and adventurous for all children.