Rusk Children's Play Garden : Inclusive Playgrounds Part Two

This is part two of my inclusive playgrounds posts. I will highlight a few of my favorite projects. These sites peaked my interest as inclusive and incorporating lots of nature elements. They had elements or imagery that really seemed to click for the design work I do. Most of them elegantly (in least some part) address the question of how to connect kids with nature in an inclusive way.

If you missed the first inclusive post you can see it here.

Rusk Children’s PlayGarden for Interactive Therapeutic Play – New York City, NY

This playgarden is located at the at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Medical Center. I did not find the exact year of installation, but it won an award in 1999. So, it has been around awhile. I particularly like the vegetation the brushes into the paths and arches over them. It makes the wide concrete paths not feel so out of place in nature. They also have lots of nicely placed handrails that don’t seem like odd additions.

“Through a collaborative process of site observations and discussion groups, several goals were developed, including:

changing the perception of therapy as work into therapy as creative play;
connecting the children and their caregivers with healing Nature in an urban context; and
motivating the patients and staff to interact and challenge themselves, promoting the individual and social development of the children” from healthcaredesignmagazine.com.

Design Firm – Johansson Design Collaborative, Inc

Total Land Area (acres) – 0.13

Total Cost – $450,000