An integrative approach to the design of play-learning environments for handicapped children
Date
1984
Authors
Barton, Michael L.
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Abstract
In 1979, a planning committee was established at the G.R. Pearkes Centre for Children in Victoria, to look into the possibility of creating an outside play environment for the children attending the centre. Preliminary consideration of the 'state of the art' relative to play centre design discovered that there were no facilities of this type available to study. Furthermore, there were no examples of adventure or creative playgrounds to be found in the Greater Victoria region, for disabled or for able-bodied children.
Although the first play environment to be designed specifically for handicapped children was built in 1967 (in Chelsea, England), there are still very few of them in existence today, especially in North America. The provision of relevant settings for children to play and develop in has not been successfully attended to, and facilities are rarely designed according to user-requirements. Because the integrative design approach to user-settings is virtually at the embryo stage of development, the thesis endeavors to demonstrate why such amenities are necessary and how they could be designed and implemented.
A background of children's participation in the urban environment, through play and daily learning processes, is traced to the reform movements of the last century. This era produced the garden city projects, followed by urban parks, municipal playgrounds and the development of creative playgrounds in North America.
The author, who became part of the GRPC planning committee in 1980, carried out preliminary research at the centre and at the Bob Berwick Memorial Centre (BBMC) in Vancouver. Additionally, investigative correspondence was a feature of this period and information or support was forwarded from various parts of the U.K., Sweden, Australia and the United States. During the subsequent programming period, the name for the project was altered to comply with the new philosophical approach; hence the title 'Integrative play-learning centre' was coined. Also at this time, various methodologies were investigated and discussed until it became apparent that a quantitative approach would not be practical or very feasible.
It was resolved that observational research should take place at both BBMC and GRPC and that structured research should be supplemented by participant observation. Furthermore, as the research at BBMC was subjected to time constraints, the program was ideally suited for a pilot project. Consequently, the methodology was refined during the much more comprehensive research program at GRPC. All of the design-relevant-information which was collected in this manner was transcribed into design principles by the planning committee. These were crossmatched with developmental goals in a matrix, from which design priorities were identified.
The author was able to form schematic outlines from these priorities and eventually a concept design materialized which was presented to the board for its approval. In the thesis, the development of the play-learning centre is described sequentially from inception to partial completion. The project has proved extremely difficult to implement as there are many barriers to overcome in all such innovative schemes. It should be emphasised however, that difficulties in funding projects of this nature are often attributable to dominant societal value systems, which are able to effectively demerit new approaches to established situations.
The design-relevant information which was elicited for the purpose of creating the play-learning centre was also useful for the establishment of certain generic principles. According to Moore's (1979) Research-Programming-Design-Evaluation (RPDE) process, such generic knowledge is capable of becoming recycled and marginally improved upon with each new project, as it emerges. It is also interesting to note that the integrative approach to specialist environmental design has become much more acceptable during the five years that have elapsed since the inception of this project.