Play Expertise

THE ADVENTURE PLAYGROUNDS MOVEMENT: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

To understand adventure play, we need to look back to where the philosophy originated. On 15th August 1943, during Nazi-occupied Copenhagen, the world's first adventure playground opened in Emdrup. Designed by Danish landscape architect C. Th. Sørensen, this revolutionary space was unlike anything that had come before. There were no manufactured play structures, no prescriptive equipment dictating how children should play. Instead, the playground was filled with loose materials, tools and natural elements that children could manipulate, build with and transform according to their own imagination.

John Bertelsen, Emdrup's first playleader and a member of the Danish Resistance Movement, articulated a philosophy that would define the movement:

"The initiative must come from the children themselves and when the necessary materials are to be had these give the children the inspiration for play."

His approach wasn't about directing play from the outside, but about creating conditions where children's own plans could flourish.

In 1946, British landscape architect Lady Allen of Hurtwood visited Emdrup and was, in her words, "completely swept off my feet." She saw something "quite new and full of possibilities" – a space with loose materials, no man-made fixtures, where children could dig, build, experiment with sand, water and fire, and create their own adventures. Lady Allen returned to Britain and campaigned vigorously for adventure playgrounds, proposing in Picture Post that bombsites be transformed into "junk playgrounds" for children. The UK's first adventure playground opened in Camberwell in 1948.

These early adventure playgrounds were radical in their trust of children's competence. They rejected the notion that adults should design and dictate play. Instead, they recognised that children, given the right environment and materials, are perfectly capable of creating meaningful play experiences themselves.

THE TIMBERPLAY AND RICHTER PHILOSOPHY: CARRYING THE VISION FORWARD 

This same child-centred philosophy lives on in the work of Richter Spielgeräte and Timberplay. When Hilde Richter founded Richter Spielgeräte in 1967 in the Bavarian village of Frasdorf, she was challenging the steel-dominated playground industry with a vision of wooden structures that would serve children's needs, not adult preferences.

Julian Richter Jr., who runs the company today, maintains this unwavering focus:

"Our customers get what suits the children and what they can enjoy for as long as possible. While the competition is often driven by price pressure, we make no compromises."

This philosophy directly echoes the principles of the adventure playgrounds movement. Both recognise that children should dictate the play, not adults imposing their vision; that open-ended design allows children to use equipment in multiple ways; that natural materials provide tactile richness; and that challenge and risk are essential elements of developmental play.

When Timberplay was founded in 2001, they brought this Richter philosophy to the UK market. As adventure playground equipment suppliers specialising in bespoke adventure play areas, the partnership between Timberplay and Richter Spielgeräte represents a continuation of the principles that John Bertelsen and Lady Allen championed – creating environments where children's initiative takes centre stage.

THE ADVENTURE PLAY APPROACH: CREATING ENVIRONMENTS FOR CHALLENGE

Adventure play spaces share certain characteristics:

Physical challenge as a core element. Wooden adventure playground structures with graduated heights, high rope playground equipment including bridges and cargo nets, dynamic movement features such as zip lines and swings, balance elements, and water play zones. These components create environments where children (and adults!) can find appropriate challenges. The equipment doesn't dictate a single correct way to use it.

Natural materials and sensory quality. Timber remains the primary material in adventure play, providing tactile variety, visual integration with natural landscapes, durability, warmth, and repairability. This emphasis on natural materials connects back to the adventure playgrounds tradition.

Loose parts and manipulable elements. The most successful designs incorporate moveable elements such as rope swings, water play equipment in the UK including interactive channels with adjustable dams, and areas for child-directed modification where children have genuine agency over the environment.

USER EXPERIENCES AND PLAY VALUE

Well-designed adventure play environments consistently generate certain types of engagement:

Progressive mastery. Children return repeatedly to challenges that initially felt difficult, gradually building competence and confidence.

Social negotiation. Adventure play structures naturally bring children together, requiring cooperation and creating opportunities for social play.

Risk calibration. Children learn to assess their own capabilities against environmental challenges, developing crucial self-regulation skills.

Imaginative transformation. Open-ended structures become whatever children need them to be, with children creating elaborate narratives that incorporate both equipment and wider landscape.

Multi-age engagement. Unlike age-segregated equipment, adventure play structures accommodate wide age ranges simultaneously, with older children modelling skills for younger ones.

The adventure play approach delivers benefits across multiple domains: physical development through varied challenges; cognitive development through problem-solving; social-emotional development through managing fear and building resilience; and environmental connection through natural materials and landscape integration.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

Creating effective adventure play spaces requires understanding both child development principles and practical implementation.

Site analysis. Exploit changes in level for visual interest and physical challenge. Weave manufactured structures through existing landscape features like trees and boulders. Consider microclimate factors including sun exposure, prevailing winds and drainage.

Zoning and circulation. Position high-activity zones with adequate clearance, water play areas with good drainage and visibility, and quieter zones away from high-activity areas whilst maintaining visual connection. Create circulation routes that prevent bottlenecks.

Material selection. Larch and robinia offer excellent durability and weather resistance. Detail connections to allow water drainage around joints. Use stainless steel fixings for structural integrity.

Safety considerations. Provide genuine challenge whilst managing hazards. Distinguish between risk (beneficial for developing judgment) and hazard (danger children cannot reasonably assess). Comply with critical fall heights whilst offering meaningful elevation.

CONCLUSION: TRUSTING CHILDREN'S COMPETENCE

The adventure playgrounds movement that began in 1943 held a radical idea at its core: children are competent, creative individuals whose initiative should drive play. That vision, championed by pioneers like John Bertelsen and Lady Allen of Hurtwood, fundamentally challenged adult assumptions about what children need from play environments.

Today, companies like Richter Spielgeräte and Timberplay carry forward this legacy through design that refuses to compromise on what serves children best. Their commitment to natural materials and focus on open-ended challenge echo the philosophy that play should belong to children, not be prescribed by adults.

For landscape architects and developers, this means designing adventure play spaces that trust children's imaginative capacity rather than imposing adult-conceived narratives; provide genuine physical challenge across multiple skill levels; use materials that offer sensory richness and environmental connection; create flexible environments that children can adapt to their own purposes; and balance safety with the developmental necessity of risk.

Done well, adventure play spaces become the kind of places children remember decades later – not because of a theme or character, but because they offered freedom, challenge and the irreplaceable satisfaction of testing and extending one's own capabilities.

READY TO CREATE AN ADVENTURE PLAY SPACE?

At Timberplay, we specialise in adventure playground design that honours the child-led principles pioneered by the adventure playgrounds movement. From initial concept to installation, our team of landscape architects and play specialists work collaboratively to create bespoke adventure play areas that balance developmental challenge with natural beauty.

Whether you're planning an urban park, a resort development, or a community playground, we bring over 20 years of experience delivering wooden adventure playground structures and high rope playground equipment across the UK, Middle East and India.

Contact our team to discuss your project, or explore our case studies to see adventure play design in action.