Imagine planning to build a playground. Traditionally, you’d start with an architect or landscape architect to nail down your concept.
However, this process is far from straightforward. It involves juggling multiple contractors, sourcing equipment from various vendors, and ensuring the surfacing meets stringent safety standards for fall zones. The complexity of this method, with its multiple stakeholders, escalating costs, and high risk of miscommunication, underscores the need for a more efficient approach.
Unfortunately, this complexity can lead to complications. If something goes wrong, the process can quickly become a maze of accountability, with people pointing fingers and solutions becoming elusive.
This not only threatens the smooth progress of your project but can also significantly extend its timeline.
The Traditional Method
Here’s how it typically goes down:
- Engage a landscape architect to draw up the initial design. They will work with you to bring your vision to the paper. Landscape architects are great at understanding master plans and will usually add the playground or playspace if requested.
- Find contractors to handle the civil works. Most of the time, when starting a project like this, you will have a project manager who will help you with it. However, there is plumbing, earth moving, electrical work, concrete layering, and so many other moving parts that this can be overwhelming even to the most experienced project manager. Building a playground or playspace is different, as you are dealing with young users, so everything needs to be perfect.
- Source playground equipment from specialised suppliers. With so many playground equipment options, you must choose the one you like, organise it with your landscape architect, and find contractors to install it if the company does not offer installation. In addition, you will need to manage the timeline in your project between surfacing and equipment installation to make it work in a timely manner.
- Hire a surfacing company to ensure safety compliance. Different types of equipment will require different fall zones and shock padding. Again, organising this and synchronising with equipment suppliers can be challenging.
- Organize the installation of all components. If you are only dealing with the supply of equipment and surfacing, you will need to find specialists to install your equipment and lay down the surfacing to make it compliant.
- Ensure compliance of equipment and surfaces at installation. Sometimes, the equipment and surface you choose will not match the compliance needs of your space. So, it is essential to
Challenges: This fragmented approach often leads to delays, increased costs, and a product that may not fully align with your original vision.
Coordinating multiple companies can lead to disjointed execution and accountability issues, complicating even the most straightforward projects.
The Design and Build Method
Enter the design and build approach, a streamlined alternative where a single entity, like Creo, manages the entire process from concept to completion.
This method reduces friction and frees up time for more critical planning and decision-making, ensuring the project unfolds smoothly without constant back-and-forth.
How It Works with Creo:
- Initial Consultation: Our sales and design team listens to your needs and visits the site to understand your vision and requirements.
- Wish List and Concept Design: We work with you to craft a design that fits your vision and budget, selecting the best equipment that maximises play value.
Our design experience starts with an internationally experienced team that deeply understands the magic of play. Creo’s playground design engineer has many years of experience in equipment design and packing play value in play equipment, all of which will help create the design you want.
- Detailed Design and Construction: We draw up construction plans and commence groundwork once the concept is approved.
- Installation and Updates: Our installation team takes over and provides you with regular updates. They’re not just installers but knowledgeable consultants eager to discuss play space dynamics with you.
- Final Assessment and Cleanup: We ensure everything is perfect, from equipment safety to site cleanliness, before handing over a fully realised playspace ready for its grand opening.
Standout Benefits
- Single Point of Contact: One company handles everything, reducing confusion and ensuring quality. We make sure that your vision is carried out throughout the whole process. Also, if there is an issue, we will manage it and organise our timeline accordingly.
- Expert Design Insight: Our experienced team designs a space that’s not only functional but also innovative and tailored to specific needs. We understand how playgrounds and playspaces work, from the design point of view to the outcome users will get when interacting with the space.
- Maximized Play Value: We focus on creating engaging, safe, and fun environments. Also, play value is not only the amount of play the equipment or the space provides its users but also how they interact with such elements in the playground, fostering learning and better development through play.
- Enhanced Social Value: Our designs promote social interactions and community building. How will users interact with each other? How will families use the space? How will different age groups interact? How does the space promote social gathering? All these questions are answered when you engage with a company that understands your new space’s whole design and build.
- Sense of Place: Each playspace is uniquely crafted to provide a sense of belonging and identity. With a design and build team, each space resonates with its location, history and people. This is essential for a successful space.
- Multi-Purpose and Open-Ended Play: We design versatile spaces that cater to various activities and encourage creativity. Let the imagination flow with designs that create multi-use, as well as letting users manage their play, risks and challenges.
Conclusion
Choosing between the traditional multi-company approach and the design and build method depends on what you value most: flexibility and control over each detail, convenience, and coherence in the final product.
With a company like Creo, the latter is a promise and a delivered reality. They ensure that your playspace is built to your specifications and enriches the community it serves.
So, are you ready to see those smiles and hear the laughter? With Creo, it’s not just about building playgrounds; it’s about creating joyful communities.
We're here to help on your journey.
You don’t just get a guide. We collaborate with you to bring your project to life.
With our design, surfacing and equipment expertise, we’ll help you have the playground you want and need.
If you’d like to know more and discuss your options, fill out this form.
Or call us on:
0800 000 334
