Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026

Outdoor Playgrounds

An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about Outdoor Playgrounds

Project • By CarvePlaygrounds

Mandai Wildlife Reserve - Treetop Play

wildlife at everyone's reach Forget what you know about traditional zoos and animal life in there: Mandai Wildlife Reserve brings in an innovative approach to wildlife, where nature preservation, sustainable initiatives and conservation of endangered species are some of the main pillars of the park to ensure a conscious experience of the animal world. The park aims to educate visitors on current threats to species, particularly the climate change threat and to promote nurtured and healthy ecosystems. Tuckys photography a unique bird park One core zone of Mandai Wildlife Reserve is the 'Bird Park', which is renowned for its splendid collection of special bird species from all over the world. Both indoor and outdoor aviaries display a... More

Project • By Antonio Abrão ArquiteturaPlaygrounds

Playground Barigui

When children are free to choose what they want to play with, their development happens more   easily and naturally, gradually building their stories, their perception of the world and their critical thinking. Playground Barigui is a space that seeks to respect what is so precious to children: playing time, encouraging distance from screens, autonomy, freedom and especially socializing in public spaces, helping to promote the strengthening of trust in others. and the sense of community. João Vitor Sarturi João Vitor Sarturi The public equipment is a gift from Grupo Positivo to the city's families, in celebration of its 50th anniversary dedicated to teaching and education. Located in one of the main parks in Cu... More

NewsNews • 31 Dec 2022

Labyrinth by Vazio S/A invites people to get lost among its pillars

Constructed in the gardens of Palácio das Mangabeiras, the former residence of the governor of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Labyrinth is a part of both the park's ongoing temporary exhibition plan and its permanent public spaces designed by Vazio S/A. Studio Pixel The project uncovers the challenge of combining a labyrinth and jungle gym into one typology. These two components combine to form an intricate layout of stairs, tubes, pillars, posts, and beams. Studio Pixel Conceived using numerous wooden pillars, the installation suggests a whimsical and playful setting. Visitors might get lost among its elements, kids can crawl on the metal grate, and anyone viewing it from a distance will see an object tha... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Mesa View Estates Park

Located in Silt, Colorado within the Mesa View Estates Subdivision, is Mesa View Estates Park. This hidden gem previously featured a compacted pea gravel base beneath it's medium-sized play structure. Newly outfitted with over 2,500 sq. ft. of duraSAFE® Rubber playground tiles, Mesa park is now set for years with a maintenance-free playground surface that offers unmatched durability and a best-in-industry limited lifetime warranty! sofSURFACES More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Primary Schools

Pleasant Hill Elementary School

After several years of dealing with some of the frustrations with poured-in-place surfaces such as: shrinkage, weeds growing through the surface, high maintenance and upkeep costs, hardening and premature wear in most of the high-wear areas, it was time to investigate other surfacing options. © sofSURFACES Inc. With the safety of their students and the rising maintenance costs being their biggest concerns, Pleasant Hill Elementary School landed on our duraSAFE® Plus Series Rubber Playground Tiles. © sofSURFACES Inc. One of the benefits that most attracted them to this type of a system in addition to the long-term cost savings is that duraSAFE offers a best-in-industry limited lifetime warranty on the tile – w... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Nederland Elementary School

Just 45 miles from Denver and 17 miles from Boulder, sits Nederland Elementary School – uniquely nestled into the Colorado mountain-side some 8,000 feet above sea level. Located on Sundown Trail, this school is surrounded by vast National Forests offering majestic views of peaks over 10,000 feet high. This is perhaps one of the most exclusive locations you might find for an elementary school! This unique and sprawling building footprint offers the children of Nederland four fully accessible play areas – all at different elevations. The bold use of vibrant colors are accentuated with the breathtaking views of Boulder Valley. In total, these massive play areas feature over 13,000 square feet of duraSAFE® Rubber Playground Til... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Montclair Park Revitazlization

Another beauty in Oakland, CA! Welcome to Montclair Park! This park is nestled in a mature treed area and features two separate play surfaces with nearly 7,000 sq. ft. of duraSAFE® Rubber Playground Tiles. Installed over granular with a curved stone and concrete perimeter, this one is worth seeing! © sofSURFACES Inc. © sofSURFACES Inc. © sofSURFACES Inc. © sofSURFACES Inc. More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Inspiring & Inclusive – Gabriel Park Playground

Featuring a number of unique play devices, this park removes barriers to all who want to play! Many of the play areas include structures that can be enjoyed by not only children with differing abilities and those with assistive devices, but also by family and friends that are with them to provide care. Some of the park's special features include an in ground trampoline and an inclusive spinner that users can wheel or walk onto. Adaptive swings for individuals and groups are also available for children of all ages and abilities. Perhaps the best feature of all though, are the accessibile routes that lead to all of the play areas. Gabriel Park is now the perfect place for children to make friends and explore their abilities while playing sa... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Primary Schools

E. Bloomfield Elementary School Playground

This stunning park revitalization at East Bloomfield Elementary School in Bloomfield, New York now features over 15,000 sq. ft. of duraSAFE Premium Rubber Playground Tiles. Divided into two large outdoor play areas, this school playground design does an excellent job of accommodating the rolling landscape surrounding the school.  With the safety of their students being the number one priority, there were also mounting concerns about some of their existing surfacing systems being too costly to maintain and repair. Beginning with the end in mind, this customer took a close look at what the long-term maintenance costs would be of maintaining a failing surfacing system over a number of years. The results were shocking. Having a unitary s... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Pulaski Park Restoration

Make a bold statement with color! Welcome to Pulaski Park Bloomfield, NJ (USA). This is what safety, unmatched durability and years of maintenance-free performance looks like. This park features our economically manufactured Plus Series duraSAFE® Rubber Playground Tiles. Our Plus series is manufactured using 100% recycled rubber. Elongated rubber stands or "buffing" are utilized in the wear layer of the tile for increased durability and a smooth visual texture while color is achieved using our specially formulated Plus Series pigments. Our team of sales experts will work with you to ensure your park has a unique flare in design by mixing colors together that compliment your park's structures. Caption Caption For over three de... More
Linden Park, Columbus, OH (10,216 sq. ft.)
Dodge Park, Columbus, OH (12,557 sq. ft.)
Dodge Park, Columbus, OH (12,557 sq. ft.)
Dodge Park, Columbus, OH (12,557 sq. ft.)
Dodge Park, Columbus, OH (12,557 sq. ft.)

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Ohio Park Transformations

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) confirms that a staggering 200,000 American children funnel through emgergency rooms annually due to injuries sustained on playgrounds. 80% of these injuries are attributed to falls to the surface – falls from elevated decks, railings, jungle gyms, swings, slides and overhead ladders. Caption Caption Mock Park, (4,600 sq. ft.), Dodge Park (12,600 sq. ft.) and Linden Community Center Park (10,200 sq. ft.) – all located in Columbus, OH feature elaborate playground structures that have recently undergone major surfacing transformations. All three parks now feature duraSAFE Rubber Playground tiles, manufactured by sofSURFACES – one of the only playground surfacing m... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Madden Park Ribbon Cutting

When you ask Raymond Giacobbe, Mayor of Rahway, NJ what the number one priority is for the parks within his community, he’ll tell you “It’s the safety of our children”. We started working with the City of Rahway several years ago when they approached us about improving the safety of their parks. Now, after several park transformations, it has become very apparent that not only are their parks cleaner and safer, but one park at a time, they are helping to bring their communities closer together. This is a great example of “begin with the end in mind”! Understanding that upfront investment in a unitary surfacing system like draSAFE far outweighs the long-term material and labor costs associated with mainta... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Civic Center Park Transformation

Sue Higgins, Mayor of the City of Oakley, California was first introduced to sofSURFACES through her local city engineer, Kevin Rohani. After hearing concerns brought forward from her Parks Manager about other playground surfacing systems simply not meeting the standard, it was an easy decision for the City of Oakley to move towards a unitary surfacing system like duraSAFE Rubber Playground Tiles. sofSURFACES There were a number of key influencers such as the concern for safety around fall height projection for their local children, displacement of loose fill surfacing due to wind and heavy use, vandalism, frequent time-consuming maintenance and the costs associated with long-term maintenance, that made this an easy decision. sofSU... More

Project • By sofSURFACES Inc.Parks/Gardens

Lancaster Park Transformation

sofSURFACES has been working with the community of Rocky Mount, NC for several years now. With many of their playground structures outfitted with various types of loose-fill systems, Kelvin Yarrell, Superintendent of Parks & Cemeteries for Rocky Mount knew it was time for a change. Vandalism has been an ongoing concern in many of their park areas – so were the rising labour and maintenance costs with maintaining these wood-chip systems. Maintaining a loose fill system requires frequent raking, levelling and top-dressing with additional wood chips and the removal of garbage/debris quite regularly. In heavy-use areas such as at the bottom of slides, beneath swings, or at the base of any rotating structures, wood chips would become... More

Project • By studio ARGUSNurseries

Kindergarten in Pärnu

One of the most modern kindergartens in Estonia can be found in the city of Pärnu, on Raja street. The common areas are accommodated in the centre of the building, encircled by an arc of group rooms – so as to minimise the corridors and footprint area of the building. The main entrance to the building faces north while group rooms with play areas are in the southern part. The layout of the rooms has been designed in view of the logistical considerations important to the kindergarten and feedback from the personnel, to ensure smooth daily movement when children are brought to the group rooms or taken to the play areas outside. Each group has its own access to the heart of the building and an exit to the outdoor play area. All room... More