A sketchy evening

Childrens forest At the end of the session Erlend came up with his vision for the park, a green oasis where people can relax and get a break from the crowded and dusty city life.

A couple of days ago we had a gathering at Erlend, Let Let and Nevas place. The agenda of this informal meeting was to collect all the thoughts people have about the park, and make the first sketch of a masterplan. Fueled by cake and mangoshakes we sat down with each our pencils and started jotting down everything from swings and benches to footballfields. After a while we focused more on the park as a whole, and began dividing it into the spatial zones that felt most natural. When the areas were given their own purpose and theme that should complement each other, and not compete, this quickly had implications on the detail level.

Naturally, some conflicts started looming on the horizon. Like how to prevent the study center from being overrun by hordes of shouting kids from the play area. After discussing the consequenses of putting up a fence, we decided that its best to keep the park as open as possible, and tackle the problem by other means, like with orientation and level changes. We also agreed that kids usually go to the areas with most attractions, and which they find most interesting, so perhaps that even solves the problem already.

In the longer run one other challenge is to how keep the park as a park, and prevent it from being clogged by new projects always popping up. This is where a clear masterplan comes in handy. A plan which everyone agrees on, and which is then pinned to the wall. Of course things can change with time, but it is imporant to have some strong visions that can steer the development into the right direction. At the end Erlend came up with his vision, “childrens forest”, a place where nature is the dominating force.

-Trond-