Cecilie Rohwedder profiles playground designer Peter Heuken, who's at the vanguard of a trend towards bespoke play spaces that challenge children as much as they entertain them.
"Mr. Heuken is the head designer at Richter Spielgeräte, a German company that has built playgrounds around the world. A trained carpenter and wood engineer, he is currently creating playgrounds in Sarasota, Fla., and on Governor's Island in New York City. One of his best-known projects is the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in London's Kensington Gardens, which features a large wooden pirate ship."
"Mr. Heuken, a 48-year-old father of three, builds playgrounds that are made mostly of wood, giving them a look very different from the bright, plastic climbing frames found at many U.S. parks and schools," explains Rohwedder. "They are part of a trend away from cookie-cutter play equipment and toward imaginative, challenging structures, often designed for specific spaces. Mr. Heuken's special interest is to make his playgrounds as safe as necessary, but also exciting and demanding for children."
"Nobody uses a car because it has brakes," he says. "Nobody goes to a playground because it is safe."
FULL STORY: The Engineer of Playground Pizazz
Private Donations Propel Early Restoration of Palisades Playground
Los Angeles has secured over $1.3 million in private funding to restore the Pacific Palisades playground months ahead of schedule, creating a modern, accessible space that supports community healing after recent wildfires.
A Data-Driven Approach to ‘Playspace Inequity’
Mapping playgrounds and their conditions can reveal how childhood play opportunities are inequitably distributed within cities.
Protecting Kids from Climate Change by Greening Schools
Los Angeles Unified School District is in the process of implementing a plan to ensure that at least 30 percent of all campuses include green spaces by 2035.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Trump Approves Futuristic Automated Texas-Mexico Cargo Corridor
The project could remove tens of thousands of commercial trucks from roadways.
Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway
Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.
Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access
MARTA's Next Gen Bus Network will retool over 100 bus routes, expand frequent service.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)