‘Gridgrounds’ creates an elongated public square of 88m x 17m, stretched across the central space so all paths converge here defining a new center for the neighbourhood.
The asphalt square is based upon the original neighbourhood grid and the grid is made visual and tangible through the white marking lines running through the space.
At the points of the grid we placed different play elements inspired by the modernist playgrounds of Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam.
To create coherence all objects are painted Breedveld orange and blue, two colours that have been used in a recent renovation of the adjacent buildings.
Through the cohesion of the colour, each object achieves a new identity, independent works that collectively form an open-air museum of play elements.
The austerity and monotony of the context is broken by the new playscape while employing the same elements and the layout of the Van Gool plan.
Our material palette takes inspiration from road infrastructure, considerably cheaper than usual open space design materials, asphalt surfaces, white road marking lines and “traffic orange” (Ral 2009) and “traffic blue” (Ral 5017) colours.
Colourful landmarks make the space identifiable from a distance, an important factor in children’s spatial awareness.
The low cost materials don’t compromise the quality of the space and the range of possible activities, but rather –here in Breedveld- create a solid and durable playscape that can be use in many unpredictable ways by the many visitors, with a relatively limited economical investment. Source by Openfabric + Dmau,
- Location: Het Breed, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Architect: Openfabric, Dmau
- Project Team: Francesco Garofalo, Daryl Mulvihill, Olivier Sobels, Jacopo Gennari Feslikenian
- Client: Amsterdam Municipality, Richard Krajicek Foundation
- Area: 4.500 m2
- Budget: 300.000€
- Date: May 2017
- Photographs: Jacopo Gennari Feslikenian, Courtesy of Openfabric + Dmau
