PEDAGOGY FIRST

CHILDREN TERRITORY
p l a y i n g d r e a m s
At the As Salgueiras Foundation, sponsored by
Galopn, we say that working side by side with
rehabilitation doctors, physical therapists and
grassroots organisations has helped us to do a
better job.
We were the frst ones to get physical therapy
equipment out into the public areas.
CSR is a topic that should not be targeted to a
reputational aspect. In part because virtue is not
preached but practiced.
At Galopn, CSR has helped us to do our jobs
better, to meet professionals with whom we
share awareness for areas such as infancy,
sports, disability, the elderly, education
In this relationship or common work towards
altruistic goals, we learn about what should guide
all of the aspects of design, communication, and
the conceptual defnition of our line of work. We
learn to do our job, to make an honest product,
to facilitate access to a larger share of the
population, with a product that is competitive,
safe and correctly defned and executed.
AS SALGUEIRAS, LABORATORY OF IDEAS
Outdoor work
Planning urban equipment always entails a
high degree of responsibiity. Besides the good
management of public funds, something that
is specially necessary in current times, to act on
the public scope means to try to give shape to
the ideal of the common good. This demand,
that is present in every infrastructure project,
takes a stronger form when it comes to design
parks or play areas. Pedagogy must guide the
design of each game, taking into account the
nature of the child and their needs for expression
and development. Only this pedagogic focus
can guarantee and appropriate combination
of elements and spaces that, in turn, constitute
the basic requirement that would ensure that a
park creates the type of essential relationships
and personal, social and cultural values.
As an example, we could strictly comply
with the demands of the reference standard
to manufacture a play element that would
fulfl the access requirements and specifed
game challenges that are appropriate for
older children or pre-adolescents. But if, like
we have seen in some catalogues, we place
a little multi-coloured fower on top of a post
on a game designed for children with certain
muscle abilities, the users, which will be pre-
adolescents in a self-affrmation stage, will feel
rightly offended, and will end up damaging or
destroying the element. However, if the game
were painted in more sober colours, eliminating
the fower, being more appropriate for an older
age group, this game will be respected by them.
Another example we have noted is when rock
climbing walls with a two-metre height fall are
painted with primary colours, or adorned with
letters and shapes that are similar to those used
for primary school children, or the games for
children who are learning to read. For the older
children, who are usually the users, this game will
be offensive to their maturity and for the little
ones it will be seen as an incentive for them to
use it, with the foreseeable danger.
In short, in order to create good play elements,
one must be a lot more than a skilled professional
in wood or steel making, or even an experienced
engineer or someone who knows the standards.
Above all, one must know quite a lot of things
that are inherent to the game being designed.
Visit to As Salgueiras Foundation
UNDERSTAND THE PEDAGOGY OF THE CHILD ABOVE ALL
In the development of the child, there are several growth stages that must be taken into account when it
comes to designing a play area.
The game must be appropriate to the precise developmental stage of the child and his/her needs. The design
language that is used expresses and transmits the play element inconsistently to user to whom it is intended.
This psychological characteristic of the design must be taken into account in order to serve the natural needs
of the user.
Primary Colors
!
DANGER
WE MUST PROTECT KIDS REAFFIRMATION SPIRIT
VANDALISM
EXAMPLE:
Material: the best
Norm: Comply it
Quality: the best
(titanium)
STANDARD 1176-1:2008
4.2.9.5 PLAY AREA EQUIPMENT THAT IS EASILY
ACCESSIBLE
Ladders are an easy means of accessing
the element, unless the frst step has a height
exceeding 400 mm from the surface of the
ground.
Stairs are an easy means of accessing the
element.
Ramps are an easy means of accessing the
element.
Step platforms with a difference in height
lower than 600 mm are considered to be an
easy means of accessing the element.

Note: There are other means of access that
can be designed to reduce the freedom of
movement and make access more diffcult,
and to give caretakers more time to interfere as
needed.
STANDARD REFERRING TO PLAY ELEMENT ACCESSIBILITY
Left: The free fall height is indicated by the
manufacturer and results from the measurement
of the distance between a platform a seat or a
net and the ground. Said height will defne the
type and thickness of the impact absorption
material.
Bottom: Separate by age groups. The standard
makes two distinctions: over and under 36
months old (with different requirements for each
case).
The quality of a public space has always been
the best instrument to measure the collective self
esteem of a community. The trend in growing
countries is that residents should physical
elements to differentiate their space from those
in neighbouring communities. The best refection
of this feeling is the wish
to provide their collective
spaces with seen as
showcases with high quality
amenities with the obvious
purpose of increasing
the perception of a high
degree of development
and transmitting the idea of
exclusivity in front of others.
The playground, because it has a strong social
sensitivity component, and because of the
viability of its confguration and design, is the
area that usually sets the standard for quality
and, consequently, creates a higher selling
potential. This comparative scenario proves
itself when in the visualization materials used
by estate developers, builders, engineering
offces, and architecture frms in order to get the
attention of potential clients.
Naturally, human beings
tend to emulate and imitate
each other, especially so
when it comes to promote
spaces that endorse their
social standing. In the last
few decades, the increase
in social and economic
development, has forced
a higher rate of quality in
collective use equipment
demanded by the residents themselves as a
refection of their increased standard of living.
The playground equipment industry is special
in that different municipalities and estate
THE PLAYGROUND AS THE ELEVATING FACTOR IN RESIDENTIAL QUALITY
the increase in social and economic
development, has forced a higher rate
of quality in collective use equipment,
demanded by the residents themselves
as a refection of their increased
standard of living
to invest a large amount of money on their
childrens education already assumes the
quality of the faculty and support staff. Again,
what reinforces the investment decision is service
that goes hand to hand with the intangibility
of teaching. The possibilities for fun, physical
exercise, and leisure are tools for sales that these
institutions rely on in order to attract new student
enrolment.
In societies featuring progress and strong
economic growth, the planning and installation
of an exclusive play area helps to increase self
and, therefore, the quality of life of the citizens
enjoying it. Furthermore, this process tends to
repeat itself in surrounding areas, sort of like
landscape contagion.
Advertisement for the Rochester School, the frst green school in Bogot (Colombia).
developments look themselves in their nearest
neighbours mirrors to imitate and avoid being
left behind under the constant scrutiny of their
keepers: voters and citizens.

This process also takes place in the scope of new
housing developments, since the consumer is
attracted not by the quality of the building or the
specifcs of the house this is private space but
by the shared spaces and collective amenities
that they offer, a public space that shows others
how we live. It is also common for developers
to take on the construction and installation of
these collective spaces even before the entire
housing development is complete, since the
best incentives for the purchase of a private
residence are the amenities and socialisation
services found in the common areas.
The same situation takes place in prestigious
schools and educational institutions that seek
to attract new students. A family that is willing
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