Capitol Hill Day School

LandDesign designed the playscape at CHDS to facilitate unstructured nature play, allowing children to interact meaningfully with their surroundings and foster curiosity about the natural environment. With the goal of creating a play space students of all ages can enjoy, the design incorporates the use of both traditional play equipment and natural materials. Natural elements such as boulders, tree stump steppers, and irregular bluestone paths create experiences for kids to interact with natural materials while building motor skills as they balance and climb. Loose elements such as sand, water, and wooden logs promote imagination and interactive play as children combine, move, and manipulate parts. A dry creek bed with a hand pump for water play lies adjacent to a sand pit, allowing the children to play with each feature individually or use buckets to bring water to the sand for expanded creative play options.

The children can make connections between the value of hands-on learning and collaboration through play elements such as sand, water, and mulch; emotional and social well-being through playhouse structures; respect for the environment by using natural materials; and imaginative play through the inclusion of interactive elements such as chalkboards, a stage platform, and moveable wooden logs.

Catering to a diverse community of students ranging from ages 4 through 14, the CHDS entrance and play space design needed to appeal to a wide spectrum of interests and abilities. By utilizing unstructured play, the design team was able to create an experience that can be personalized based on the individual. With play equipment that ranges in level of ability, children can attempt risks, building confidence as they achieve new skills. Whether used for play, relaxation, or education, the playscape supports each child in developing the confidence, compassion, and intellectual capacity to succeed.