The City of San Jose goes the extra mile when it comes to creating truly inclusive play environments for children of all abilities. Adopting design standards pioneered by Landscape Structures called Universally Accessible Play (UAP), the City’s Parks and Recreation commission requested staff in 2010 to go beyond existing Federal access standards to provide enhanced social and creative play opportunities... Read More »
Occasionally we are fortunate enough to work with a truly remarkable group of school parents and community volunteers. Such was the case with the Heather School PTA in San Carlos, located 25 miles south of San Francisco. After interviewing equipment vendors and visiting nearby playgrounds, the PTA chose Ross Recreation Equipment to design the school’s new playground, sited high above... Read More »
Landscape Structures’ ability to personalize a park site is in full display at the City & County of San Francisco’s newest playground at Cabrillo Park in the outer Richmond District. The park is named for the famous Portuguese explorer, the first to navigate the coast of present day California in 1542. Jasmine Kaw, landscape architect with the City & County of... Read More »
Occasionally, we work on a school or neighborhood project that seems to embody the essence of what we hope to achieve at Ross Recreation: build strong personal relationships that endure; create something lasting and positive; and enhance a spirit of community. Such was the case with Maria Ching and her PTA Committee at Vallejo Mill Elementary School in Fremont, California.... Read More »
This week, I asked one of our Ross team members, Jon Bawden, to share his experience with a truly special playground project that our company was fortunate enough to have been involved with. Here, in Jon’s own words, is the story of Athan Downs Playground. ~ Ewing Philbin “Why do we get up each morning and do what we do... Read More »
With the arrival of the New Year, many of us resolve to increase our physical fitness and overall well being. We seek a variety of ways to achieve our well intentioned goals, but the traditional springboard for many remains the indoor gym. I don’t know about you, but my days in the gym are gradually giving way to healthy outdoor... Read More »
I have been selling play equipment for thirty years and I love every day of it. I took a moment to look back at some of the projects that really stood out over the past year and the cool aspects of my job. Dolores Park, San Francisco: watching hundreds of kids swarming the new playground on an old site renovated... Read More »
Who says outdoor play and learning have to be mutually exclusive? As a culture, we tend to compartmentalize play and learning (recess vs. classroom). The San Francisco Exploratorium has taken the concept of blending play and learning one step further by funding geometrically shaped climbers at museum playgrounds, school and city playgrounds. Kids are learning about geometry and spatial relationships,... Read More »