Occupiable “gate/border”play area
After landing in Santiago, we did not waste time exploring the city. One of the main features of the city was its cerros. I was excited knowing that Bicentenario de la Infancia was one of the first places the group would visit because 1) I wanted to see a project by Alejandro Aravena and 2) I wanted to see a role the cerros played in Santiago.
In this case, the hill was turned into a park. I really appreciated how extraordinary this park was in incorporating the hill as a public space for families. The border along the bottom of the hill acted as an occupiable play area framed by orange beams. The ground of the play area had various slopes creating slides and tunnel spaces while representing the sloping hills of the city.
Another key feature I tried at the park were the slides. I rode the funicular up with a group and started at the longest slide. I was a little hesitant after finally seeing how steep the slide really was. But after Bryant tested it out and survived, I rode the slide down. As brilliant as I thought the slide along the vertical slope of the hill was, I felt that it was not as comfortable to ride. Maybe Bryant and I just weren’t as young as we used to be, but we both agreed that the final part of the slide where it began to level off hurt our tailbone. We also had to catch ourselves as we excelled off the slide.
Overall, I thought the park had amazing features that allowed various experiences to occur. Whether it was the unique slides, border, and rock fountains, or the more usual seesaw and swings; it was clear that this park was being enjoyed by the community.