CABE calls for an end to 'KFC' play spaces
Bland playgrounds are restricting children's creativity, CABE has warned, with too many local authorities relying on an identical 'kit, fence and carpet' (KFC) approach to design.
Playgrounds look much like each other no matter where they are in the country, with uniform equipment, fencing and an expanse of safety carpet.
CABE Space has published Designing and planning for play to provoke a different approach to playground design. Over the next three years, the government is making an unprecedented investment in children's play: £235m to upgrade 3,500 playgrounds.
CABE says that this opportunity for transformation could be wasted if local authorities rely on the catalogues of a small number of manufacturers who usually 'design' the play spaces as well as produce the kit of parts.
Sarah Gaventa, director of CABE Space, comments: "This massive government investment represents an incredible opportunity to provide exciting and sustainable play spaces. But we must all stop obsessing about risk and trying to wrap our children in cotton wool, and instead create spaces that allow them to use their imagination in a stimulating environment."
CABE argues that play spaces should allow children to take risks to learn their boundaries. Natural play design, which uses landform and vegetation as well as elements such as wood, stone and mud, often makes it easier for children of different ages and abilities to play together because it encourages imaginative play.
Playgrounds should encourage creativity, and site specific art can sometimes offer more play value than standard equipment. A strong local identity supports creativity, with locally sourced materials and construction by local craftspeople.
Source: Campaign for Architecture in the Built Environment
Press release -27 October 2008
