Boston University Children’s Center Playscape

Set within a historic residential neighborhood, the design team preserved the existing building's exterior while ensuring that both the architecture and landscape complemented the surrounding context. The site design included accessible entrances, full site landscaping, parking, and separate outdoor play environments for infants and toddlers and preschool-aged children, all thoughtfully integrated into the character of the neighborhood.

Designed to feel like a backyard, the 9,497 SF outdoor play space serves 105 children through a combination of natural and manufactured play elements. Climbing structures, a sand and water play area, a tree deck surrounding a mature oak, a music area, a trike path around a play hill, a cozy reading nook with tree stump seating, and an extensive gardening area adjacent to a repurposed building encourage exploration, creativity, and outdoor learning.

The outdoor play spaces provide play-based learning in a natural setting, incorporating sensory plantings and a spectrum of play environments that support child development across a range of ages and abilities. Careful attention to the plant palette and material selections allows the landscape to fit quietly and elegantly within the surrounding residential neighborhood. Throughout design and construction, the team collaborated closely with Boston University to deliver this complex project with exceptional sensitivity to the historic campus, neighboring residences, and the broader community.