Wayne Gretzky Sports Center

Overview:

A small but mighty parkette that provides natural play spaces for gathering, sand play, creative play and climbing.

Our design team was given a blank canvas to create a place to gather, play and celebrate the landscape of the hometown of a Canadian icon. Everything we did was designed to reflect the flow of the rivers that surround Brantford. The Carolinian forest, the trees that were used for the wave pergola, and rolling topography in the form of a drumlin reflected the glacial trail that carves through Brantford. Each piece of log carved furniture was crafted from local trees. This is a true example of a public park designed for unstructured and sensory play, with a focus on connection to nature and community gathering.

This is a small but mighty parkette that provides spaces for gathering, sand play, creative play and climbing. My favourite features in this space are the wacky posts for running through, climbing and fort making and the sensory-rich sand area with water play and a fantastic wooden sculpture for climbing and creative sand play. This is a charming, inspiring place for families and children of all ages!