Post-Occupancy Evaluation Recently, play has become a more integral part of large public development projects, and playgrounds are no longer relegated to rectangular boxes in corners. Unique play elements or playable public
Materials and details are evaluated for
of the POE program is not to determine
art are increasingly seen as nuclei that
performance. Traditional playground
the ‘right’ way to play (the existence
activate spaces. With the addition of
POEs tend to focus on physical activities
of which we unreservedly deny), but
new types of play spaces, we ask: What
or, more generally, child development
rather to reflect upon and capture the
play designs are truly successful? How
standards by counting and quantifying.
richness of play experiences. This is not a
might such success be measured? And how might we use such evaluations in future play projects? To help us think through these questions, Earthscape has developed a new post-occupancy evaluation program (POE). POEs aimed at assessing and documenting the performance and impact of built projects are familiar to Landscape Architects. Our program includes research into equipment functionality and is used to assess 18 maintenance and longevity.
We believe that play asks us to think beyond standardized measurements and look for stories and experiences, moments and journeys that come not only from children, but from and for wider communities. The Earthscape POE program assesses how a playground design supports various types of play and inclusive interactions, focusing on both the ‘childscale’ efforts of playground analysis and adult/family-led activities. The goal
comparative program; we are not looking to find how one playground is better than another. Instead, we focus on the relationships unfolding in each space so that the analysis of those observations can inform future design decisions. Our commitment to consistently partake in a POE program also speaks to a particular culture: a culture of paying attention to users and of never forgetting that the design is not for the satisfaction of its creator, but for those using it.
