Overview

Proludic designed created and installed a 100% inclusive playground for the city of Vannes, officially the largest inclusive play area ever constructed in western France. Opened in Dec 2019, the play area, on the Etang de Tohannic site, is accessible for users with reduced mobility.

Vannes invested €500,000 in this 750m2 play area containing 30 structures and 50 different play activities.

Objective

The city’s clearly stated objective is to enable children both with and without disabilities to optimally enjoy the benefits of play equipment in the open air.

“It’s an innovative project aiming at favouring tolerance and living together in harmony. The idea was to enable children to play together, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. We wanted it to be perfectly suited to all siblings’’ explained Chrystel Delattre, City Councillor responsible for disability and accessibility in Vannes.

Work undertaken

Proludic, strongly committed to inclusion of all children in play areas, designed, created and installed the play area. The play equipment items meet the needs of children with all types of disability including motor, auditory, visual, cognitive and intellectual. Products include: wheelchair adapted swings, multi-activity structures with access ramps, wide platforms and play panels at ground level, audio and tactile play items, signs in braille and sign language, wraparound spring-mounted play items, and trampolines. All products were installed on a highly themed surface with contrasting colours and features raised areas.

A sensory trail weaving its way through the play spaces has different surface materials (artificial grass, pebbles, balancing logs, brushed concrete, paving stones, etc) and reinforces the fun appearance of the site, leading children to new tactile experiences and creating multiple stimuli for visually impaired children.

Outcome

The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor, David Robo, elected representatives, associations, children and their families, professionals from specialist organisations and Proludic representatives.

Comment

“We are very proud to have been selected by the city of Vannes to create the Etang de Tohannic play area,” explained Denis Le Poupon, Founder and CEO of Proludic. “At Proludic, inclusion is a key aspect of our philosophy because we believe that all children should have access to play and to the same play facilities.”