Richard Krajicek Foundation (RKF) attempts to give all young people the opportunity to have a social context where they can play and do sports. The RKF been doing this since 1997 with the completion of sports facilities (playgrounds) in neighborhoods where sports facilities for children are poor or limited. This time the awards assembly VAT has been of 9,000 euros, 5,000 for the winners and 2500-1500 euros for the second and third winners. Here we bring the proposals submitted for Maansteenpad in Leiden, a suburb of Leiden (a city halfway between Amsterdam and Rotterdam). Of the 52 proposals submitted the jury chose ten finalists and select three winners and two honorable mentions.
1st Prize
Into the Wild
Daryl Mulvihill (1977), Francesco Garofalo (1983), Barbara Costantino (1982)
dmau y Openfabric, Amsterdam
Play is about finding ones place in the world and making sense of that world. We have created a plan that seeks to juxtapose two different worlds. The man made and the natural. The plan has an urban exterior and a wild natural interior, each space contains a different type of play.
The formal exterior is a place for sports and structured ordered games, while inside the wild interior children are encouraged and free to construct and destruct their own play spaces using natural materials. A boundary “ribbon” between the two worlds wraps and protects the interior, while adapting towards the exterior to allow games and integrate traditional playground elements. This “ribbon” is the threshold, a place where children learn to move between the natural world and the man made world. The relationship between the man made and natural worlds is the essence of sustainability, forming an understanding of this dialogue through participatory play and creative interaction is an essential childhood experience currently missing in many urban areas.
2nd Prize
Het Hergebruikte Appartement
Bernd Upmeyer (1973) y Javier Bressel Mateo
BOARD, Rotterdam
We took the wish of the competition’s organizers, the Richard Krajicek Foundation (RKF) – to involve the surrounding buildings as closely as possible in the design of the playground - literally and picked a typical apartment from a building in the neighborhood, enlarged it five times, and used it as the ground plan for the new playground. This proposal was based on the conviction that reproducing an apartment from the neighbourhood would make it easier for the inhabitants of the area to identify with the new playground, which would eventually lead to a socially sustainable place and a strong sense of belonging among people.
3nd Prize
Pop-up Playground
Jacques Vink (1964), Nick van der Knaap y Ward Mouwen
Ruimtelab2 Architecten, Rotterdam
Honorable Mention.
…even Krajicek bellen.
Cees Maris (1976), Frank Lewis, Kees Tammes, René Smit
Maris landschapsontwerp & techniek y René Smit Architecten, Zeewolde
The Next Level
Bart van Leeuwen (1987)
Hilversum
