Inspiring outdoor adventures through elementary school playground renovation.

Lacking a variety of play components and with portions that were tree-heavy and muddy, leadership at Westminster School knew they needed an upgrade to their playground area that was decades old and not very accessible. This playground serves their private school children from kindergarten through 5th grade.

FSB joined the design-build team to renovate and add on to the existing playground. The stakeholders wanted the children to get a sense of exploration and excitement, while also making the area as ADA accessible as possible.

For the east side, FSB’s design team drew up a tree-house forest concept, with wide bridges connecting them and a climbing tower in the middle that let the kids feel like they themselves are climbing through the trees. This durable design specifies composite wood deck material that will not fade or splinter. The perimeter features as well as other play components are also ADA accessible. This area features a performance space that could also be utilized as an outdoor classroom.

Another addition was the sand pit on the west side. This element was designed with sensory play features and a three foot tall “hill” at one end. Within the hill is a crawling tunnel and on top a slide. Organic shapes and colors were used throughout to increase the kids experience/relationship to nature.

Other renovations consisted of taking the original sand pit on the north side and turning it into a climbing wall with a rubber fall zone and foam building block area.