Architect Turns Unused Hill Into Amazing Public Park for Children

To celebrate Chile’s Bicentennial in 2012, award-winning architect Alejandro Aravena was asked to create a public space for the children of Santiago, Chile.

Aravena and his design team at Elemental, the Architectural firm he founded, designed a four-hectare (10 acre) playground with tree houses, swings, water forests and an incredible 60 toboggan cascade into the side of an unused hill space. Aravena adds:

The proposal uses the difficulties of the terrain to solve a classic dilemma of children’s games: make them either safe or entertaining? The hillside slope allowed us to reach enough height to make them fun, without being a threat to children’s safety. Furthermore, the perimeter fence of the park is a play area of 310 m.

Aravena was recently awarded the highly prestigious 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize. You can learn more about the award here.