The Día De Los Muertos inspired playground at Lincoln Heights Recreation Center on the Eastside of the City of Los Angeles was another one of my favorite projects. Nestled into a vibrant and bustling Latino community on the east side of Los Angeles, this recreation center has been a refuge for children and families from some of the gang related activity that has become prevalent nearby. The playground, however, was is desperate need of replacement.
I initially visited the site with Anthony-Paul (AP) Diaz, who was the Chief of Staff for the Department of Recreation and Parks at the time. (AP was recently appointed the Parks Superintendent for the City of Seattle.) AP and I share a passion for unique designs that truly connect with local communities and environments. Parks and playgrounds are such important places for children and families to connect, so creating a safe and enticing play space that was also tied to the local community was paramount.
We discussed different design options with the recreation center director and collectively landed on the Día De Los Muertos theme. Día De Los Muertos is a holiday in Mexico and throughout Latin America that honors and celebrates the deceased. And while that may seem a bit morbid for a playground, Día De Los Muertos is very much a joyous occasion, filled with tremendous color, amazing food, drinks, and traditions to celebrate family and friends that have passed on. Our goal was to make the playground itself feel like a celebration, a joyous place no matter what!
We worked with the local community, as well as our design team at Landscape Structures to develop the initial design concepts:
Filled with color and nods to the holiday and Mexican culture, the design was impactful to say the least. We leaned heavily into incorporating Sugar Skulls or Calaveras into the design, including ones on the shade sails themselves. And while there was a ton of positive feedback, some community members were concerned by the amount of skulls, and how that might play with people and children that may not understand the playgrounds' theme. It was constructive feedback that we 100% took into consideration in our final revisions. I never regret pushing the envelope when it comes to design, but you always have to be open to constructive feedback.
The final design and installation was incredible. A truly one of a kind playground that brings joy to my heart every time I even see a photo of it. We could have put a really nice standard playground into this community center, and no one would have batted an eye, but we took the opportunity to create something special for a community that deserve it.
Tremendously grateful to have been given the opportunity to work on this project. And especially grateful to work with a person like AP Diaz, who ALWAYS wants to push for special things in the communities he works with! Seattle is lucky to have him on their team!
Playground Owner: City of Los Angeles
Playground by: Landscape Structures
General Contractor: Evergreen Environment
Playground Surfacing: SpectraTurf
For more information on this project or any others, please feel free to reach out to me here.
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