Design: Tree Grove

A tree grove has been planted on the North-West corner of the playground. There are also shrubs and perennial gardens that weave through the trees as well as through and around the seating area that opens to the path.

Building on the invitation to “hear”, we wished to invite sound into the playground. Not just let it happen because it was unavoidable, but open the space to its presence.

Thus, working away from the North fence, we planted a row of poplars. They are the smaller trees you see on the left side of the photo.

Also known as trembling or quaking aspens, these trees have flat leave petioles, so they shake easily with the wind. And if you have ever been near an aspen, or a grove of them, you know they sound magnificent – like a waterfall erupting above your head. We aligned the planting of the poplars with the wind exposure of the site, so that once again, the wind and the sound are welcomed with nearly pomp and circumstance, not shunted as unwanted seasonal side-effects in search on thermal comfort for humans.