I wrote last year about the participatory design process that culminated in the construction of this great backyard play structure. The idea was to find a way to connect our yard with the neighbour's yard but also to take things into the 3rd dimension and to build our fantastic shade tree into the picture. I think it all went very well, and the structure is well-used by kids of all ages. The older ones like to congregate in the cockpit after dark and we can see the play of flashlights from our family room. The younger ones play on the stairs, the platforms and the ground underneath pretty much all day long when the weather is good. Even the adults seem to enjoy the structure. I've used the perch once or twice as a backyard office where I can sit and talk on the phone away from the hubbub of the house (you can see my fancy office chair in the picture). I'm looking forward to sitting up there in hot summer nights as well.
This spring, our street is a quagmire of construction as all of our services are replaced, so we're all learning new patterns of movement through the neighbourhood. It's prompted me to spend a lot of time on my bicycle, as then I don't have to figure out how to get the car in and out of the street. It's also given all of the grownups new reasons to move from one backyard to another to access our back gates which lead out to some additional parking areas and walkways. I get a real kick out of watching neighbours climb up and down these stairs with books and briefcases on their way to and from work. The daily commute should always be this much fun.
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