Why choose a collaborative approach?

Does the way we procure playgrounds create the finest design solutions that offer the best value to communities? As a playground design consultancy and supplier, Jupiter Play has delivered play in every guise of procurement possible. What they know is each Local Authority is unique and guided by a number of variants that balance design, play value, maintenance, budget and capacity.

But what can also be observed is that sometimes the weighting of a playground design may lean too heavily one way over another and doesn’t ultimately bring the best value to the community it serves. So what would be proposed? The best results are always achieved when working in a collaborative way, which is a challenge when there is a large portfolio to manage. But imagine if you could run a playground project where your community was completely invested in the design? Or your working knowledge of the site, landscape and the history behind it was accurately represented?

Play space designers, regardless of how experienced and creative they are, will never be the people closest to the project, and those inner workings should never be underestimated in the value it brings to the project design. Is that delivering the best value when heading to the pretty picture process?

Poole Park

It was a really enjoyable process for Poole Park because Jupiter Play think the best playgrounds, and therefore play experiences, are when projects are delivered when working in a collaborative way, mostly with Landscape Architects, to deliver this type of experience. So many tender processes miss the mark in creating a sense of place or even some play value for the children, it becomes a tick box exercise, and they are not advocates of that.

The clients' favourite aspect really has to be the vibrancy and quality of the colours that the Robinia has been painted. It has really brightened up the space and made it a really appealing place to play.

“Our green spaces have played an important part in our lives during the pandemic, with even more people appreciating their value. So it’s particularly good to see this key aspect of the Poole Park Life project come to fruition at this point in time.”