Community Design/Nature Play
The vision for NaturePlay in Mapleton is to promote child development and community pride by encouraging self-discovery through interactive and experiential connections to the environment and peers. The development will bring nature back into the community, while providing a safe place for children to play outdoors.
Goals for the NaturePlay System are identified as:
• Create NaturePlay spaces that satisfy the desires of the Mapleton community and in doing so will instill community pride and city-wide belonging.
• Create a place that fosters imagination and creativity for all ages.
• Provide opportunities for social, mental, and physical development.
• Encourage and explain the practices of environmental awareness and sustainability.
• Reveal and establish connections between the NaturePlay spaces and foster community-wide involvement.
This group project focused on community engagement as a method of research and data gathering for the final design solution. The NaturePlay system for the town of Mapleton, Iowa is a result of community board meetings, members who participated in surveys, design sketching, and engagement activities. A majority of the semester was used for research, data gathering, and schematic design. The final proposal shown here is what was presented to the community at the end of the semester.
Engaging the Community
Nature Play System
Aquatic center
Nature Play
Center
City Park
Musical Play
West
Ball fields
South Ball fields
Skate park
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