The Children’s Playground in the National Garden is a magical supra-local play space which operates under the aegis of the Municipality of Athens. The space was first demarcated for use as a children’s playground in the 1930s, when the National Garden passed into the public domain. After ensuring the greatest possible safety, the handing over of the playground to the public responds to a long-standing petition of the people living in the wider region of Attica. Given the notable historical and natural importance of the place, basic preconditions for designing the playground were to preserve its aspect, to respect its uniqueness and to differentiate it from the rest of the modern playgrounds in Attica. Within this frame, the principal features of the space were kept and strengthened, such as the sense of earthiness of the sloping ground and the tall trunks of the trees, the foliage of which starts from a great height and functions as a natural canopy. In keeping with the natural surroundings, the equipment as a whole is made of wood, while all the materials used for the fall surfaces are water-permeable. The planning overall is consistent with the principles of sustainable development and is a model of environmental management for contemporary playgrounds with eco-identity, in harmony with the wider greenery management in the National Garden, which is carried out with notable sensitivity. Particular emphasis is placed on the preschool and adolescent age groups, so as to complement in function the likewise recently renovated children’s playground in the Zappeion Park. Concurrently, despite the steep slopes, the design has taken into account the parameter of accessibility, so that the playground can be used also by children with disabilities.
On the south side of the playground is an area with particularly steep gradient, which is an outlier of the hill with ‘Amalia’s Rock’. The slope here was reinforced and a mound was created with terraces of tree trunks, which alludes notionally to the belvedere of ‘Amalia’s Rock’. Interventions on this scale are rarely encountered in the urban tissue of Greek cities. Visitor of all ages forget that they are in central Athens, while children are able to enjoy contemporary forms of play, literally in the countryside. By preserving the natural terrain to the utmost, the setting offers limitless opportunities for free and creative play, making the remodelled children’s playground in the National Garden once again a meeting place for all the family!
