Winter Park has been longknown for skiing and sledding, but the new amphitheater makes it a premier summer destination for Colorado. Anchored by the stage, the park is expanded and upgraded with beauitfully landscaped grounds.
When Design Becomes Brand
Hideaway Park: A 4-Season Bowl of Concert, Festival and Outdoor Entertainment
Rain won’t delay Inspiration Playground!
Construction started last year on Inspiration Playground in Bellevue, Washington...then it started to rain and never stopped!
Annual rain in the Seattle area is around 37 inches. (That already seems like a lot since our hometown in Lafayette, Colorado averages just 15.8 inches per year). But, since last October, over 45.9 inches of record rain has come down over in the Seattle area. That’s almost 4 FEET of rain! The Seattle Times called nailed it when they said “Enough Already!”
That’s a lot of water to deal with for a construction project. No matter, the willpower and dedication to the making of Inspiration Playground has kept construction rolling and plans for opening are set for this summer.
Designing for Water
Speaking of water . . . knowing there’s going to be a lot of rain, ‘”managing water” is an important design feature. Minimal use of sod is planned to minimize maintenance impact of saturated lawns. Heavily planted rain gardens throughout the site will collect and provide natural water quality purification. And a well-designed stormwater run-off system will move water along off the playground site.
Rainy-Day Play
“I learned early on in my parenting career that there’s no need to stay inside on a wet day,” said Linnea Westerlind, author of Discovering Seattle Parks, who created a best-of list of the “The Best Rainy-Day Parks and Playgrounds.” Inspiration Playground will fit right in with these rain-friendly, puddle-jumping fun spots that Seattle area children enjoy.
The Making of a Whimsical Wisdom Tree
Inspiration Playground Wisdom Tree Bellevue Washington inclusive play playground custom art sculpture
It’s big, fantastical, otherworldly and whimsical! And it’s designed to be the grand centerpiece in the imaginary fairytale-like setting of Inspiration Playground in Bellevue, Washington.
This majestic fantasy-like tree is meticulously designed and meticulously fabricated collaboratively in the studios and workshops of Design Concepts and IDSculpture.
Loosely modeled from a giant cedar, the tree takes shape rising 24 feet tall high, with 10 and 12-foot spiraling gold branches, dotted with randomly placed light accents.
A Wise Old Face
Carving art and faces into trees is commonplace but always a great find when stumbled upon. At Inspiration Playground, the face in the tree is artistically hand chiseled and carved. The face in the tree trunk is detailed and textured to look just like a subtly carved wood grain work of art, in this case, a wise old face.
Lights!
What’s a whimsical tree without dramatic detail using fanciful lighting?! 10 strings of 204 ‘live node’ lights wind and weave around the branches to create a sensational visual appeal. The LED lights are programmable with variable colors, pulsing and contrast intensity. A light show can be programmed to complement events, holidays, theme or season. At night, it will glow and pulse creating a whimsical sculpture cutting through a dark sky.
Meticulous Detail
From initial sketches and concepts that were imagined and created in the design studio of Design Concepts, the innovators and fabricators at IDSculpture were able to turn a concept into a constructible reality. Every detail of the tree has an artistic touch. From the tip of a spiral to the nose on the wise old face, both conceptualizer and fabricator alike took great care in each of the smallest of detail.
Structure
In the shop, the artists, craftsmen and fabricators of IDSculpture brought to life from the fantasy world of creative design and imagination. The tree is made of a propriety mix of concrete, PVC, rebar and steel. Solid cast concrete is topped with a hand sculpted topcoat layer—this is the medium to create the design texture and features of a realistic tree. Its base is anchored over 5 feet deep into the ground with reinforced concrete.
In the end, from idea, detail, artist or master craftsman, every part of the design and fabrication process highlights great innovators, idea-generators and collaborators. And this was only possible in the beginning when a great collaboration between the City of Bellevue and Rotary Club of Bellevue came to be.
All in all, the great majestic Whimsical Wisdom Tree comes to life today!
