Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Putting the Play in Playground

  • 03/01/17
school playground

Slip-resistance and permeability for quick drainage were two benefits offered by Porous Pave XLS all-rubber safety surfacing — chosen by Community Christian school in the construction of their new playground.

Community Christian School (CCS), Willmar, Minn., is an accredited, inter-denominational school representing more than 20 churches in west-central Minnesota. CCS is a K-12 school and home to Eagle’s Nest Pre-School and Childcare. When CCS installed a new playground, the selection of the safety surface gave David Monson, owner, David Monson Landscaping and Excavating, Kandiyohi, Minn., the opportunity to use his imagination to bring the playground to life.

Choosing a playground surface requires attention to several priorities, starting with critical fall height. Based on the height of the highest piece of equipment that a child can stand on (and fall from), critical fall height determines the thickness necessary for safety surfacing to absorb impact. CCS also wanted slip-resistance and required permeability for quick drainage leaving no puddles after rain. The pre-school teachers wanted smoothness and comfort for young children sitting on the surface. In Minnesota winters, outdoor surfaces must be flexible to withstand freeze-thaw cycles without cracking or heaving and toughness to withstand the scrapping of snow blowers and shovels.

Based on all of its requirements, CCS selected Porous Pave XLS from Porous Pave, Inc., Grant, Mich. Porous Pave XLS is an all-rubber safety surfacing made with chips of rubber processed from recycled tires. Mixed with a moisture-cured liquid binder, it forms a solid paved surface that is safe, highly permeable and flexible.

“We made the playground unique and special,” says Monson. “The recycled rubber chips come in different colors. The material pours in place, so it can form shapes.”

Monson blended a custom mix of earth tones poured at a depth of two inches for the main sections of the 12,000-square-foot surface. Four-inch-deep XLS forms the green safety pads in the critical fall areas. Circles, hearts and diamonds in bright primary colors put the play into the playground.

www.porouspaveinc.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Esports are Growing in Popularity

    Video games and esports are a popular social hobby, and it’s one that’s accessible to a wide variety of physical ability levels. Some esport student-athletes have started to earn scholarship opportunities, and high schools are beginning to form teams equipped with the same degree of resources as their physical sports teams. However, the two have very different needs.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • DLR Group Announces New Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has promoted Principal Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED AP, to the role of higher education leader in the Mid-Atlantic, according to a news release. Gaither has served with the firm for more than 20 years, most recently as the national higher education business development leader.