We worked together with Donegal Public Art Office and Killybegs Playground committee to commission architects to design a new play space for the town. The winners, Lotus Architects, were selected from 32 competition entries from Ireland and abroad.
Lotus Architects’ design features grassy terraces linked by slides, slipways, platforms and a miniature waterway. The innovative design is linked to the town’s maritime history and includes climbing equipment made from wood and rope. Existing features of the site in Killybegs are sensitively incorporated into the design, with some play areas sheltered by the old tree and a quiet reflective area surrounding the monument to seafarers.
Children are the experts when it comes to play and the commissioners engaged play expert Jackie Bourke of playtime.ie to find out what Killybegs children wanted from their new Play Space. “Adventure, fun and imagination” were top of the list and Lotus Architects have responded with a design which will provide hours of fun and inspiration.
The project is the first of its kind in the country, said Thomas Pringle TD, chairperson of Killybegs Playground Committee. “Ultimately we wanted this to be the most amazing outdoor play space you could imagine and we are delighted that after years of hard local fundraising this will happen”.
The Killybegs Play Space opened in 2014 and was a commission from the Donegal County Council Public Art Programme from a portfolio of over 70 projects completed.
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The IAF’s Architeks are specially designed architecture activity sheets for families, full of observation games, sketching and quizzes that take you along selected routes.
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The children of Killybegs town will soon have an exciting new Play Space as a ground breaking new commission gets underway.