LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
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Above & Top, Right The Vortex splash pad was engineered by Hines Inc. of Fort Collins and installed by CEM Sales & Service of Sheridan. A rubberized nonskid surface coating (Ultra Tuff) was employed. Design Concepts designed the rock shower (top right image), and Hines, Inc. engineered it. Water is pumped (150 gpm) through a pipe threaded through the sandstone boulder. The water flow for the splash pad, however, is 350 gpm. All water is recycled. Hines implemented a treatment system to meet public swimming pool health code standards. PHOTO: ROBB WILLIAMSON The social aspect of the playground extends to special rooms for kids and caregivers to relax and have a snack. One shelter, level with the playground, has WiFi and the feel of a coffee house, with a fireplace, skylights and built-in stone "couches" where visitors can commune or use their mobile devices. It provides the comfort and familiarity of an environment where they typically spend time working or socializing. A level above the "coffee house" shelter is a two-story plaza overlook with a covered viewing deck. From this bird's-eye view spreads out the playground, with the park and panorama of the mountains to the west. Across the plaza from the playground, the main shelter includes a picnic pavilion with a gas- fireplace warming area and comfortable restrooms. Educational Elements The park's design intends to convey the passage 60 Landscape Architect and Specifier News of time through the playground's nautilus shape arches, spirals and curves in the park's structures. Among the park's educational elements, the main plaza next to the playground showcases the historic timeline of the Cherry Creek Basin, including fun facts and a map of the watershed. Inscriptions in the paving and climbing rocks along the Colorado Statehood Walk identify the state flower (Rocky Mountain columbine) and state bird (lark bunting). The Viewfinder Walk offers history and trivia with such inquiries as, "Did you know the last wild buffalo was killed in Colorado in 1889?" Challenges in Design and Construction The site had some challenges, and we created others with the playground design, which was strongly three-dimensional. Layering everything from water play to vertical rock faces to a tree house in such close proximity required real skill on