Landscape Architect & Specifier News

MAR 2014

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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Projects by No Fault Sport Group, LLC, and Vortex Aquatic Structures Int'l. (Continued on page 26) p l a y g ro u n d Surfacing & Splash Pad Showcase 24 Landscape Architect and Specifier News Building new playgrounds has become a balancing act for architects and installers everywhere. Finding ways to engage children accustomed to digital distractions in active play are constrained by ever-increasing safety regulations and environmental concerns. Fortunately, manufacturers and designers are staying ahead of safety trends with improvements in safety surfacing that allow children to remain active and free during playtime. The growth of specialty features like splash pad parks are also providing interactive and immersive outdoor elements that can't be replicated by the light of a computer or cell phone screen. Top The safety surfacing at Flamingo Elementary in Hialeah, Fla., consists of ethylene-based (EPDM) or thermoplastic vulcanized rubber (TPV) rubber granules and a polyurethane binder. The two-layer system is poured-in-place and hand-trowelled to create a resilient, seamless rubber surface with a consistent depth over a specified rigid base. Miami-Dade installed similar rubber safety surfacing at four schools in the district with a sunshine pattern, with colors that match each school's theme. Middle The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, La., turned to No Fault Sport Group, a national supplier of synthetic surfacing, for their safety and sport surfacing needs. The firm provided bonded rubber mulch beneath the playground and safety surfacing beneath the climbing walls at BREC Perkins Road Park in Baton Rouge. The bonded mulch is a one-layer, poured-in-place rubber surface composed of postconsumer recycled rubber shred, commonly made from recycled auto tires. Bottom This rubber-bonded safety surfacing, installed at a Louisiana State University playground at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., has a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) base mat and an EPDM or TPV colored cap. Both layers are mixed with a non-flammable, non-shrinking, one-part moisture-cured polyurethane adhesive as recommended by the manufacturer, which is capable of bonding to concrete, asphalt or compacted stone. An identical playground was installed on the left field foul line, and a rubber safety surface was added on the field to emulate a dirt warning track. 24-27.indd 24 2/27/14 9:03 AM

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