KOMPAN’s Universal Playground Design Points

KOMPAN has defined seven points that should be considered when designing for a universal and inclusive play area:

1. Accessible routing

The first step in making an inclusive play area is to provide an accessible infrastructure and accessible surfacing to and around the play area with relevant play activities. There are three kinds of accessible safety surfaces:

• wet pour surfacing
• rubber tiles
• accessible/engineered wood fibre

However, safety surfacing is only necessary under and around play activities. The remaining accessible routing could be made with gravel pathways, tiles, wood tiles or similar.

2. Relevant ground level activities

The definition of relevant activities depends on the users intended on the playground. Users of the playground often include adults, carers parents, and the elderly. A wide range of activities which can be reached and handled from or on ground level are recommended for the sake of all users. Different age groups are appealed to by different activities and these should furthermore be ergonomically designed to cater for the user group intended.

3. Access to relevant elevated level activities

Access to elevated level activities, which can only be entered and used from elevated level, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines is provided by adding a transfer platform or a ramp to the playground activity. That having been said, some users with walking impairments can master an inclined net access, for instance. Again, by stressing relevant elevated level activities it is our hope to see fewer pieces that lead a ramp up to a platform on which there is nothing to do.

4. Variation in play opportunities

Varied activities is a keyword in all user oriented playground planning. Offering versatile activities might be a way of offering variation - multiple activity pieces are often very popular with the users. Good examples of multiple activity pieces can be the themed role play structure which also offers sliding and climbing. Or it could be the spinning equipment, which can also be used for sand play; or the sand play counter which makes a great seat for the adult accompanying the child to the playground; the swing which is also a nice, rocking seat and meeting place.

5. Supportive of challenges in play

Planning play areas for users with disabilities also means to respect the innate need for playful challenges, also for these users. Just like any other child, children with disabilities should be offered a range of relevant challenges: wheelchair users with dystrophies can for instance hoist themselves by upper body power into a climbing net; autistic children can cooperate and socially interact with other users on a seesaw. These are examples of challenges that can be supported playfully in the well planned play area.

6. Supportive of social interaction

The social aspect of the playground might be the most basic purpose served by a playground in the first place. Spaces where children can interact socially, through physical play, as seen in friendly competition on swings, spinning equipment or ball courts, or more quiet spots for a break are both relevant to make the atmosphere of the play area friendly and appealing to users. For users who cannot get around without a wheelchair, transparency in products which cannot be accessed is important to make it possible to be part of the play, to be included.

7. Special solutions for special needs if relevant

Users who cannot get around without a wheelchair will need further assistance to get to relevant activities. For these users, ground level activities can be used. Elevated level activities represent a challenge if not accessible by a ramp. The wheelchair users who can not get out of the chair take joy in viewing the world from elevated level once in a while, and ramps can be built in for that purpose. These ramps should not lead to activities, that are not relevant for the users or which will have an egress or exit point that far away from the point in which the wheel chair was left behind, that the journey back to the chair is insurmountable to the user.