For the students, the project served both as a community service effort and a lesson in the use of modular pieces to make pre-assembled structures. The project also is helping introduce a larger project in which the class is researching and proposing designs for low-cost modular classroom units, he explained. The students recently dug foundations, mixed and poured concrete, and installed the playground pieces at D.W. Aiken Village, MSU's family housing complex on College View Drive. The complex's pre-school serves about 30 kids ranging from 3 to 5 years of age. Design teams created a range of structures, including one resembling a spider and another in a ladder-like configuration.
Some pieces hug the ground, while others arch and curve above.
We are thrilled with the results. It's a project that has benefited everyone involved. They visited the playground and evaluated how to place their pieces in relation to the site. Each design also had to consider safety and durability issues for real-world use, including how to plan for foundations, how to treat wood and how to join parts. MSU's campus landscape department furnished assistance and products, while the Forest Products Laboratory provided assistance with wood preservatives.