Features

March 2010

Design for Play: a guide to creating successful play spaces has won a Highly Commended Award in the Landscape Institute 2009 Awards.

Aileen Shackell was the principal author for this document, jointly commissioned by Play England, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), with co-authors being Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle and David Ball.

This document is the first detailed guidance on play design to be published in the UK. It presents a compelling case for moving from a formulaic approach to designing play spaces, to one which is focused on the creation of playful landscapes. The overall message, and specifically the development within the Guide of the 10 design principles, will ensure that play space design remains from now on firmly embedded within the landscape design sphere.

Over 21,000 copies of the guidance have been distributed and over 14,000 copies were downloaded from Play England's website within the 3 months following publication. The DCSF considers the document to be one of their most successful documents ever published.

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