Creating environments where play is nature and nature is playAt TouchWood, play is in our nature, and nature is in our play. We are guided by the idea that play is an intuitive and irrepressible impulse, whatever form it takes. It is a spontaneous expression of curiosity and creativity. It is a natural impulse that everyone is born with that is fundamental to cognitive development, balancing emotional state, and mental and physical health.
As the product of instinctive, individual expression, children’s play is a behaviour with no concrete shape or boundary and play action rarely has a fixed purpose. Instead, play happens naturally when children (and people of all ages) interact and engage with each other and in natural places. We like to call this ‘the biophilia effect’, where we strive to create positive memories from natural play.
Children often find surprising and ingenious ways of playing that cannot always be predicted or preconceived by adults. Therefore we believe that children’s play should not be ‘organised’ but allowed to be discovered. Through our dedication to only using natural materials, shapes, and design and build in our structures, we inspire rather than direct play – enabling visitors to explore our structures in a way they choose.
Humans – particularly children – have a deep-seated desire to play perfectly matched by natural environments’ diverse physical and multi-sensory qualities. For this reason, we work with our clients to produce structures and playgrounds that reflect the surrounding areas. In addition, human nature instinct is satisfied by the exploratory, interactive qualities of outdoor play.
Providing meaningful opportunities and settings for nature play, therefore, meets children’s basic needs and intents and creates well-being within the individual and a range of physical, mental and emotional benefits.
Explore the resources below to learn more about the types of play we can inspire through our structures.
At TouchWood, we believe that dwell time is a key way to evaluate the success of any playground or play structure. Through our iconic structures that are unique to their specific setting, we aim to provide timeless, positive experiences for all our visitors. In addition, we create environments that invite visitors to explore natural designs that inspire long durations of engagement and play.
When you work with TouchWood, we look closely at your ambitions to create structures that serve your business. The number of visitors you have on-site every day is key to ensuring your sustainability. Our structures and playgrounds are designed to attract and retain visitors as the hero piece of any attraction, education space, or residential area. With only natural materials, shapes and designs, our structures invite visitors to engage and play and in many instances, have increased interest in a specific site.
We’ve created so many playgrounds now that it is hard to keep track of them all! This gallery is a great way to get a full view of our playground portfolio to hone your vision and begin creating your playground. Some of these images are from our early days in the 2000’s so please forgive us for the poor image quality!
Our concept design team can quickly help you explore pricing, themes and play value on a call. Our designs are bespoke and no two are the same. Whether you’re a school or a world class leisure park, we can quickly come up with some ideas to support your project.
