Design Workbook
The Design Workbook provides a common set of concepts and images and a menu of design options for landscape architects and schoolyard committees. Illustrations of best practices are offered to jump start design and decision-making; checklists are included to ensure that a variety of issues are considered and evaluated in the context of assets, limitations and realities of the specific schoolyard site.
The workbook has been created with consideration for safety, budget, sustainability, maintenance, sense of place, functionality and inclusion of natural and man-made materials. We encourage designers and schoolyard groups to choose durable materials, consider location of key elements, and anticipate the use of the site. Locating a garden next to a play structure will probably put the garden at risk. A play structure, trashcans, or benches made for the home will not stand up to institutional use. Plant materials should be chosen based upon their ability to survive a particular climatic zone or the rigors of an urban environment. Good soil and a source for watering plants should be addressed during the design phase, as should the availability of sunlight and adequate drainage. An ounce of planning is worth a pound of cure.
Our Design Workbook is a work in progress, developed with input from design professionals, educators, parents, students, community members and City of Boston project managers and Boston Public Schools administrators.
Schoolyards
- Introduction
- Landscaping
- Landscaping – Good and Bad Practices
- Play Equipment
- Safety Surfaces
- Painted Graphics
- Public Art
- Site Furniture
- Circulation and Fencing
- Green Practices
- Shade
- Active and Imaginative Play
Outdoor Classrooms
- Introduction
- Entrance and Gateway
- Gathering and Seating
- Circulation and Pathways
- Urban Meadow
- Sample Woodland
- Planting Beds
- Lab and Experiment Area
- Armature
- Outdoor Classroom Green Practices
- Outdoor Classroom Signage
- Earth's Materials
- Outdoor Classroom Elements: Enhancements Provided by School
Recommended Plant List
Design Details
