Challenge

Proludic was asked to design and deliver a themed playground for Barrow upon Soar Parish Council, taking inspiration from the River Soar.

From the outset, they wanted to realise a dynamic play space to reflect the beautiful natural surroundings and sense of river-life offered on this elongated park site close to the waterway.

Project detail

With its meandering route, the river offered up an abundance of wildlife for Proludic's designers to take cues from, such as families of ducks and glistening lily pads, as well as the brightly decorated barges moored on the river.

Dan Baxter, Proludic Designer, said: “We wanted to incorporate a lot of the things that you see on the river within the play area. So, we’ve got the red, green and grey boat designed in the same style as a narrow boat. It (the park) was inspired by the creatures on the river, ducks, frogs and also foliage like lily pads and the river itself which we incorporated. We took the fun elements of the river and put them into the play area.”

The aim for this project was to deliver an engaging themed site that was also challenging for use by children of all ages and abilities. Inclusivity was an important part of the client’s brief, and this equipment was included in the final design. Innovative inclusive play equipment choices from products recently launched by Proludic included a centrepiece nautical-themed multiplay unit.

The river and nature were replicated into the thermographic and wet pour surfacing of the play area with graphics of lily pads, creatures that inhabit the area, and a winding river running throughout the length of the play area.

This is all brought together with a large boat multiplay unit which had the colours adapted to resemble the nearby canal boats. The boat was also adapted to include a plaque to showcase its name, ‘The Barrow Kipper’. This vessel takes its name from the remains of a Plesiosaur fossil (originally named Plesiosaurus macrocephalus) found in Barrow upon Soar in 1851, known as the Barrow Kipper.

Proludic also provided a storytime retreat area outside the play space for children to take a break from playing in the fenced area. This provides children with a place to rest or have quiet time, but still be close enough to take part by observing other children. This is ideal for children with cognitive disorders such as autism.

The design was presented back to the client in a concept booklet and fly-through, which the Parish Council found useful in enabling them to visualise the finished area.

Testimonial

“We contacted several different play park installation companies, gave them the same brief and Proludic produced the best plans. Not only did they produce two-dimensional plans, but they produced a video showing a flythrough of what the park might be like when it was fully installed…..Proludic was a very professional company. They produced plans and layouts to a very timely timetable.”
– Anne Beckett, Parish Councillor, Barrow upon Soar