We had 363 amazing post-it notes!!!! They gave us so many hours of laughter and wonderful memories, as we were reminded of our childhoods. It is those memories that hold the secret. Through interpreting all of the ideas and research, we found that the memories of play were strongest when there was a connection with family or friends. Social interaction was the basis of the majority of peoples memories they shared, so the playspace needs to be an environment that encourages social interaction and play.
Along with this, we found that we needed interactive elements, we needed to complement the space and work in with the space in an organic way, to be un-conventional and to provide an area to relax.
From this we dreamt big, we thought about how we could incorporate all the cool prototypes somehow. Such a fun process, thinking about how a child and an adult could both interact and connect with elements.
We are investigating the possibility of creating a project team to develop these ideas further, but we cannot wait until then to share them with you all. There a four main transformations planned for the space.
- A PLAY BOX, to encourage social interaction with nostalgic games and activities for both adults and children.
- TREE FEATURES, with ropes and hammocks, enhancing the environment.
- SOCIAL SEATING, for families and friends to eat, relax and interact with.
- GIANT FEATURES, Carts and unconventional objects to allow exploration and curiosity to run wild.
This is very exciting for us and has only been possible with the support we have been given so far, so a huge thank you to you all. We will be needing all the support our community can give, to make these ideas into a reality and create Palmerston North's Playful Heart.
