Too often, playground activities make parents passive helpers for their children’s activities, pushing the swing or sitting by the sandbox. In these steep rubber hills, children and adults can be equally challenged and

conquer the hills together. A guiding, red path offers a discovery route through the area, where trees and bushes make smaller areas of activity and quiet.

The looped path going through the area combines the sloping landscape with seven new thematic areas for play, quiet rest, sports and dog training.

The new activity areas combine existing facilities with new and improved functions.

Activity Landscape Kastrup is a long, slim area of land with steep hills stemming from construction sites in the surroundings. There was no option to largely remodel the layout, so MASU Planning designed from a strategy of ‘minimal investment – maximum output’. The existing conditions showed the potential for a super compact set of experiences,

with a great outlook over the surrounding lands. When you have climbed up the steep, green rubber hill, you can gaze towards the sea and take in your accomplishment. Mixed meadow grass seeds were sown on the steep hillsides and are allowed to grow high and wild to minimise maintenance costs.

When the housing organisation Tårnbyhuse initiated Activity Landscape Kastrup, the nearby residents had concerns. Would the transformation bring even more insecurity to the neighbourhood? The area was really a ‘non-site’, a leftover space by the train tracks.The playgrounds, gardens and running tracks definitely brought more people to the area but,

strangely, the more people that came, the safer the area felt. Through strategic planning of varied facilities, the park gained relevance for new user groups – today, kindergartens from the surrounding daycare centres come to play, families come to picnic and runners get outofbreath.

Doing sports alone or in groups is part of the flexible plan. In the first part of the park, a ball court introduces the idea of active interaction.

Alongside the ball court, the red path measures the distance you cover and is great for walking and running up and down the hills.

In a quiet area tucked between the hillsides and the trees, a flower garden forms a quiet space, a pocket in the wilderness where children and adults

can take a break and sit, enjoy the view, smell the roses and listen to the birds.

Climbing the hill in the tree trunk forest or going down the slide? The blue and green play areas challenge both children and adults, and, rather than

being designed for one game, they creates the framework for many activities, inspiring children of all ages to join in and play.

The path is the red thread that ties it all together and leads you through the different themes. Winding between the plantation, going up and down

the hills, the path beings new experiences and surprises around every corner.