Playing It Safe

The St Thomas More Education Center Preschool Playground meets several fundamental requirements set forth by the Owner to assure the safety and security of children: 1) to be directly accessible from Classrooms; 2) to be visually supervised from the building; and 3) to be enclosed and secure at its perimeter. The solution meets these criteria and took advantage of walls that also serve as retaining walls as the site raises a full floor around the playground. Children can walk onto the playground through exterior classroom doors. Large classroom window areas look directly onto the playground. The retaining walls, with generous fenced openings for light and view, were extended to fully enclose the playground in a very secure and safe environment, and also to provide lots of protection from adjacent parking and driveways. A soft playground surface was provided throughout the area along with play structures suitable for the preschool age group. A small sand box is fitted into one corner. High quality materials surround the playground: wrought iron fencing, honed and split face masonry and glass give the playground a very high quality feel. Mechanical units located on an adjacent entrance roof were enclosed in masonry to reduce ambient noise; and, building downspouts were recessed in masonry and drained underground to reduce water runoff in the area.