The Art of Play: how can cities achieve the right balance between adventure and risk when it comes to creating childrens’ playgrounds and adventure parks? Oliver Wainwright explores playground design and attitudes to play in the Guardian, 31st October: ‘We’re cosseting our kids’ – the war against today’s dangerously dull playgrounds. He discusses Aldo van Eyck’s post-war playgrounds in Amsterdam and, more widely, discusses the ways various architects and cities approach the theme of play.
Health and Safety were issues far from people’s minds in post-war Manchester and Salford, where children made their own entertainment in the bombed-out streets. To illustrate this, the Play Well exhibition at The Wellcome Trust and the Guardian have included works by Shirley Baker including the above photograph of a group of young lads having endless amounts of fun in burnt out cars – the photo was taken in Manchester in 1968.
Play Well is at the Wellcome Collection, London, until 8 March.
