What does a carbon neutral playground look like? Is it upcycled material waste? Is it using locally-sourced materials? Is it changing manufacturing processes?

The goal of this project is to facilitate a meaningful design response to the climate crisis by developing a framework that explores sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance, and life cycle of a carbon neutral playground. 

Our first major exploration is in playground surfacing, which currently accounts for half of a playground's budget, and most are manufactured using virgin materials with a large carbon footprint. Through our leadership, we have connected clients and cities across the country with innovative and carbon negative surface materials, such as Corkeen. Additionally, we have begun our own materials studies of attenuating meadows and combined stormwater/attenuation systems.