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Technology and Engineering
- ISSN: 2333-2581
- Modern Environmental Science and Engineering
The Latest Tendencies in Designing Recreational Spaces — Contemporary Multisensory Gardens, Parks, and Playgrounds
Paulina Tota
Cracow University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow, Poland
Abstract: Playgrounds came into being relatively recently — as late as in the mid-19th century. Ever since their very beginnings, the concepts and ideas accompanying their appearance have been changing, and the contemporary times prove that there are several, if not a dozen, different models of shaping recreational spaces for children and adolescents.
The recreation zones and the like that come into being today not only fulfil the function of recreation, but they also provide assistance in the rehabilitation of children and adolescent, interacting with all the senses and encouraging them to undertake physical activity. These spaces constitute areas with a therapeutic function for persons with impaired vision and hearing, as well as with psychophysiological disorders. In providing opportunities to play educational games, they help to build interpersonal relationships and social skills.
This paper aims to review the contemporary tendencies in designing playgrounds that stimulate the senses. The examples of multisensory recreational spaces presented herein constitute a review of contemporary design tendencies in Poland. They differ from one another considerably, both in terms of their sizes and the fundamental use (dedicated to all children or designed as rehabilitation playgrounds in hospitals or specialist centres). Nevertheless, undoubtedly, they are all multisensory spaces, that is spaces which thanks to their spatial layout, selection of fittings and details stimulate all senses of their users.
Key words: playgrounds, recreational areas, multisensory design
