Philadelphia Play Space - Empowering the community through sports and sustainability
A hybrid open public space for activities with a playground and running track that engages the neighbourhood community.
The aim of the design is to re-think the urban environment and existing activities present in the district. This social project demonstrates that a mix of innovative sustainable ideas related to sport areas and playgrounds can change the way we empower entire communities that consist mostly of minorities. The focus is on converting the energy of people of different ages in a positive way, leading to the inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities in the local society. As a bi-product the growth of neighbourhood after-school activities could also increase safety in the area. The young would be given the possibility to have a sense of belonging to a inspiring group from the early years.They woud not feel abandoned by the system and look for alternative ways of binding with the neighbourhood community or district. The project seeks to contribute to this dialogue by exploring how architecture and design can help people from different ethnical groups equally imagine changes in community relations. The proposed intervention could be also a catalyst for the economic repair of the community by allocating so much needed public spaces like a square for events with an auditorium combined with a playground area. From the street level people would be drawn into this active place by an extended running track that would also allow to efficiently monitor the children.
Architect: MJZ
Date: February 2016
Location: Haverford Bright Futures,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Partner in Charge: Maciej Jakub Zawadzki
Project Architect: Łukasz Wenclewski
Team: Michał Polak, Riza Kori, Daniel Radliński, Su Hyun Kim, Nicoló Bianchino, Jan Gronkiewicz
Client: William Penn Foundation, Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children DVAEYC , Community Design Collaborative
Sponsors: AIA Philadelphia, GSK
Philadelphia Play Space - Empowering the community through sports and sustainability
A hybrid open public space for activities with a playground and running track that engages the neighbourhood community.
The aim of the design is to re-think the urban environment and existing activities present in the district. This social project demonstrates that a mix of innovative sustainable ideas related to sport areas and playgrounds can change the way we empower entire communities that consist mostly of minorities. The focus is on converting the energy of people of different ages in a positive way, leading to the inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities in the local society. As a bi-product the growth of neighbourhood after-school activities could also increase safety in the area. The young would be given the possibility to have a sense of belonging to a inspiring group from the early years.They woud not feel abandoned by the system and look for alternative ways of binding with the neighbourhood community or district. The project seeks to contribute to this dialogue by exploring how architecture and design can help people from different ethnical groups equally imagine changes in community relations. The proposed intervention could be also a catalyst for the economic repair of the community by allocating so much needed public spaces like a square for events with an auditorium combined with a playground area. From the street level people would be drawn into this active place by an extended running track that would also allow to efficiently monitor the children.
Architect: MJZ
Date: February 2016
Location: Haverford Bright Futures,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Partner in Charge: Maciej Jakub Zawadzki
Project Architect: Łukasz Wenclewski
Team: Michał Polak, Riza Kori, Daniel Radliński, Su Hyun Kim, Nicoló Bianchino, Jan Gronkiewicz
Client: William Penn Foundation, Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children DVAEYC , Community Design Collaborative
Sponsors: AIA Philadelphia, GSK