"Whatever space and time mean, place and occasion mean more.”
Aldo van Eyck would be ninety-two today.
He's really the reason I started the blog...finding "The Playgrounds and the City" as I stumbled around in libraries and obscure internet postings, thinking that there had to be better playground ideas out there somewhere, but where? felt like tripping over treasure in the dark.
So it was satisifying to notice recently that the day I started the blog, two years ago, was on March 18, just two days after his birthday. I made eight quick posts in an afternoon flurry when I should have been working, compelled to start talking about the new ideas, the new places, I'd discovered. Aldo's was the eighth, the top shot of the first blog cover. It was months before I had a single reader.
And now I have you all, and many of Aldo's surviving playgrounds from the prodigious 746 sites that he designed for Amsterdam between 1947 and 1978 have reached their half-century with grace and happiness and children still.
The occasion is Aldo's birthday, though the place is one he couldn't have anticipated, the virtual landscape of a blog-home, for great playgrounds and their champions.
Happy Birthday Aldo!
[photos from "Aldo Van Eyck the Playgrounds and the city" (eds. Liane Lefaivre and Ingeborg de Roode), which still makes me happy every time I look at it. The series of before and after photos show a sad bombed-out city coming back to life...recuscitation by playground. Detroit should take note.]
What a wonderful improvement those playgrounds made! (Personally I would like to see more growing things included, but that's just my personal preference.)
ReplyDeleteDetroit's problems aren't exactly the same. It's biggest difficulty is the small number of people in its very large footprint. I don't know if you saw my posts on it this past winter. The highlights are farming the city, a new bicycle path, and an artist's community. If you are interested:
http://thecluelessgardeners.blogspot.com/search?q=Detroit
Happy birthday to your blog! Thank you for helping grown-ups to make the world better for children.
Happy Birthday.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your Blog - it is quite refreshing, especially for a "commercial" playground guy. What a great use of space. I couldn't imagine that any local government I visit would have the vision to do it! These days they would just complain about the proximity of traffic......
Happy birthday & thanks for tell me about him!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Blog and Aldo!! Not sure which I appreciate more. Both of you egged us on to start the play design competition. Now, here's hoping today's designers can reach the same level of wonder. Thanks so much for keeping the blog going while you waited for us to show up. Best wishes, Cynthia
ReplyDeleteThanks for this wonderful blog. Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteWe are trying to find someone to create a natural playscape for my son's preschool and are finding it challenging. Do you know of any landscape atchitechts in the bay area san fracisco or California on general who could do this? Thanks for the information and for your wonderful bog!
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