Nooks

Playsculpture, Lyndonville, NY, 2019

Recipient of a grant from the KaBOOM! ‘Play Everywhere Challenge’ sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation’s ‘Built to Play’ initiative, and further supported by the Lyndonville Central School District and Goric

“C” and an “S” shapes are made of SBR playground rubber, forming super-sized curving bricks. These elements are stacked and arranged into a sinuous configuration, that allows for multiple occupations by different people at the same time. The curvilinear shape of the bricks creates nooks and moments of proximity, within the overall linear form. The familiar soft rubbery surface is an instant reference to the play potential of the structure. The layering of the soft bricks further lends itself to creating a stepping arrangement that intuitively prompts climbing. At the same time the installation is non-prescriptive and can equally be used for other games and forms of creative play, but also for sitting for children and adults alike.

These rubber bricks are now available for purchase through Goric who helped us develop them as a product and is marketing them as ‘Curvy Blocks’.

More than a hundred students in grades 2-6 helped us design the installation in Lyndonville. The kids brainstormed by playing with scale models of the bricks and the final design reflects a synthesis of their best ideas.