August 31, 2016 at 12:35 pm

Architect Turns Unused Hill Into Amazing Public Park for Children

by twistedsifter

 

To celebrate Chile’s Bicentennial in 2012, award-winning architect Alejandro Aravena was asked to create a public space for the children of Santiago, Chile.

Aravena and his design team at Elemental, the Architectural firm he founded, designed a four-hectare (10 acre) playground with tree houses, swings, water forests and an incredible 60 toboggan cascade into the side of an unused hill space. Aravena adds:

 

The proposal uses the difficulties of the terrain to solve a classic dilemma of children’s games: make them either safe or entertaining? The hillside slope allowed us to reach enough height to make them fun, without being a threat to children’s safety. Furthermore, the perimeter fence of the park is a play area of 310 m.

 

Aravena was recently awarded the highly prestigious 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize. You can learn more about the award here.
 
[Sources: Elemental, ArchDaily, 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize]

 

 

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