The magic of play

At Landscape Structures, we see connections made every day. Everywhere. This is the beauty of play. An extraordinary opportunity for interaction and imagination. Coordination and cooperation. Freedom and fun. Play lets us connect to who we are and see our wonder amplified in the connections we make. That’s why, in everything we do, we celebrate the beauty of play.

We are proud to lead the conversation about the power of play with our videos. Watch the trilogy of Shaped by Play below.

We Come Back to Play
Play Will Always Shape Us
For a Better Tomorrow, We Play Today

The beauty of play is that it’s not just play at all. It’s magic. An opportunity to make connections. Use our social media toolkit to share your story of how play has helped you make connections throughout your life.

Most importantly, share the magic of play with your community by contacting your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started on your upcoming playground designs today.

It’s still true… Design Matters. Play Matters More.

Request your 2022 PLAY Book

Our approach to design and play hasn’t changed. And that means everything keeps changing. It’s why designers discover ingenious ways to create new, innovative landscape environments. Together, we’ll create environments to be newly fresh and exciting upon every visit. Because that’s what creates return visitors to our playgrounds… and our 2022 PLAY Book. By design.

We build unique play value into each design. The result is layers of possibility, the development of new skills and an opportunity to evolve with children’s changing needs. See all the unique designs of the PLAY Book in action below.

Find inspiration for your next wondrously kid-centric world by browsing and requesting a copy of the 2022 PLAY Book. Then contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to design the preferred destination of families in your community and beyond.

Design Matters. Play Matters More.

For us, design refers to what a playstructure looks like as much as it does to the play value built into it. We simply cannot design one without the other. Play value is what creates return visitors. That’s why we design play environments to be fresh and exciting upon every visit. Go here to view and request a copy of the 2021 PLAY Book.

Deliver a hive of activity that sparks the imagination, facilitates discovery and lends itself to new adventure. See a few of the signature playground designs from our 2021 PLAY Book in action below.

Turn your destination playground into a legend. By design. Contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started on your next playground design.

Play Will Always Shape Us

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvBsHikZcRg]

Play is powerful. It instills important values like leadership, perseverance and cooperation in kids. That’s why we design playgrounds that add value to kids’ experiences, and bring individuals of all ages and abilities together for play. Play is everything, and no matter our age, we come back to what we know… Play will always shape us.

We are proud to lead the conversation about the power of play with this video, and want to help you lead the conversation in your communities. Request a download of our Video Discussion Guide here.

Help us spread the important message heard in this video by sharing it with your family, friends and colleagues on social media. And be sure to tell us how play has shaped your life using #shapedbyplay.

Let your imagination soar

2018 PLAY Book

Is your head in the clouds when it comes to unique design?

Perfect. We can help you shape sky-high visions into just-right solutions.

From playful post toppers to concrete-sculpted climbers and colorful palettes to DigiFuse® panels, we can help you turn sky-high ideas into amazing realities. Let’s collaborate.

Request your copy of the 2018 PLAY Book, or browse the virtual PLAY Book. And to see these amazing playground designs in action, watch our video below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlEBFdMA-c]

Safety is our top priority

Kids are always finding new and inventive ways to play on or around playground equipment. And while they may scrape an elbow or bruise a shin, it’s important to take steps to eliminate the risk of more serious mishaps. We make playground safety a top priority, and we’ll help you keep kids safe with our age-appropriate commercial playground equipment:

We have commercial playground equipment to meet the needs of all age groups.

  • With the infant slide, appropriately sized climbers and other playground equipment designed for 6- to 23-month-olds, infants and toddlers gain strength, stability and motor skills, along with a host of other physical and cognitive skills.
  • Preschoolers are developing physical play and are thinking more creatively. We have many playground designs that offer age-appropriate play elements that test motor skills, strength and agility of kids ages 2 to 5.
  • School-aged kids need physical and mental challenges while they play. Our commercial playground equipment for 5- to 12-year-olds help them develop balance, coordination, muscle endurance, problem-solving skills, social skills and much more.
  • Even kids in middle school love to stay active through play. We offer a wide variety of playground activities that meet the needs of this group to keep them engaged and challenged. From Aeronet® Climbers to Skatewave® Skatepark equipment and the HealthBeat® Outdoor Fitness System, you’ll find choices that this hard-to-please age group will love.

Keep kids safe on the playground with safety surfacing and playground shade.

Even more, our playground safety surfacing will help keep kids safe from falls and our CoolToppers® shade systems will help protect them from harmful UV rays. Learn more about our commitment to playground safety at playlsi.com.

Creating more excitement with playground colors

When it comes to playgrounds, color is just as important to a child’s learning environment as the play structure itself. To create a sensory-rich playground environment for children, we spent the past year researching outdoor environments and working with chemists to create color formulas in nature-inspired hues and tones. The new colors—Berry, Buttercup, Carbon, Grass, Lagoon, Paprika, Peacock and Sky—are designed to enhance a child’s play experience.

Nature-inspired playground colors

The benefits of these innovative colors are numerous:

  • Nature-inspired colors allow children to engage in a playground design that creates a calming experience. This is because tones that reflect the outdoors are familiar to children. For example, we wanted the tone Buttercup to relay the feeling of playing a field of flowers.
  • Unlike the average toy, which is meant to drive visually loud experiences, natured-inspired playground colors help children focus. This is particularly beneficial for children with sensory processing disorders who often seek soothing environments, and the tones Sky and Peacock are meant to replicate the calming sense of sky gazing or playing in a garden.
  • Our new color line intentionally adds a metallic fleck to a matte finish for a richer finish that creates texture and offers a tactile play experience.

Harry Thomas Sr. Playspace

Learn more about our color inspirations and our overall design philosophy at playlsi.com. And tell us here how you use color to create additional dimension in your designs.

Celebrating landscape architecture throughout April

In addition to being Autism Awareness Month, this April has also been designated as World Landscape Architecture Month. The month-long event celebrates landscape architecture and the work its professionals do to design public and private spaces.

World Landscape Architecture Month 2015

We’re proud to be able to work with landscape architects to create innovative playground designs. Whether it’s a curvy, sprawling design of playground nets, an environment that teaches kids about the history of their community, or a themed playground that sends kids on an adventure in their imagination, playgrounds designed by landscape architects become spaces that welcome individuals of all ages, abilities and cultures.

Summit Park, Blue Ash, Ohio

We love the result of collaborating with landscape architects, but their designs go way beyond parks and playgrounds. See projects “Designed By A Landscape Architect” by following #wlam2015 on social media, then visit asla.org to learn more about World Landscape Architecture Month and the landscape architecture profession.

Guest Blog: Designing a truly inclusive playground

In June, we awarded the Iola Kiwanis club in Iola, Kan., $25,000 in playground equipment as part of the Make a Difference Through Play contest. Since winning, they’ve been busy with plans, and we’re happy to share another update from Michael Ford, member of Iola Kiwanis and community resource officer for the Iola Police Department.

When our playground consultant from ATHCO, LLC visited with us to discuss the inclusive playground design, five representatives from the M.O.M.S. group were at the meeting along with the school’s physical therapist and a couple of Kiwanis members. We all paged through the Landscape Structures catalog—the moms focused on products that might specifically help their kids—and the rest of us picked out items that we thought we be fun for all kids.

The Marble Panel™, Xylofun Panel® and Bongo Panel all provide sensory-rich experiences for kids.

L to R: Marble Panel™, Xylofun Panel® and Bongo Panel

Some of the moms focused on including sensory panels because they figured that even though their children might not have a lot of muscle strength to climb or hang from overhead events, they can still participate and have fun. And I don’t know what kid isn’t going to enjoy beating on Bongo Drums or playing on a Xylophone, which is what some of the panels included. Another popular item was the Marble Panel™, which one mom whose child with vision problems picked out. The light shines through the marbles to engage kids’ sight, plus it offers a unique tactile experience.

As a parent of kids without special needs, I never thought about sensory items as part of the playground, but now I see that it’s very important. And it’s important for the development of all kids. That, to me, is how we’re providing a truly inclusive play space.

The Roller Table provides a unique sensory experience with its deep muscle pressure.

Roller Table™

While the moms focused on sensory-rich activities, the physical therapist thought more about what kids—with and without special needs—need for building strength. She chose climbers that would engage kids’ full bodies. And she thought the Roller Table™ would be great for kids that don’t have any lower body strength, as they can lie down and pull themselves through.

The design process has been very educational for us. The Cozy Dome®, which I just looked at as a fort or climber, can also be beneficial for children with autism to use as a “time-out” space if they get overstimulated. It was quite the learning experience to look at these playground products from a different point of view.

The Cozy Dome® offers kids a place to escape the hustle and bustle of a busy playground, take time by themselves or socialize together.

Cozy Dome®

After that first meeting, our playground consultant came back with a design that we all liked. The design is final; however, if we exceed our fundraising goal we’d love to add more inclusive playground pieces to the design.

Stay tuned for another update from Michael next month. He’ll talk more about the importance of inclusive play to the community of Iola.

Show your school spirit… on the playground

Versailles Elementary School created a school spirit theme for their school playground.

Personalization adds a unique element to playgrounds, and it also lets you show your school spirit! Versailles Elementary School in Versailles, Ohio, went all out to show their support for the Tigers. By incorporating their school colors—orange and gray—and a couple of personalized panels showing their school mascot, there is no doubt to anyone that visits the playground that it is the home of the Tigers.

Personalize your playground activity panels or welcome signs on your school playground.

Not only can we help you create an entirely personalized playground like Versailles Elementary, but we can add any level of personalization to best meet your needs. From a personalized welcome sign to playground panels with your school name, motto or mascot, or a customized freestanding play component, we’ll help make your school playground design your own.