Of all the places that we have visited so far I found the Parque de la Infancia to be the most interesting. As we walked along the paths I found myself comparing it to traditional parks that I have seen in America. Parque de la Infancia is a very processional park that climbs vertically up the cerro and takes up a large amount of space. This differs from the flat landscape and open layout that is normally seen in American parks. Parque de la Infancia is also designed specifically toward children and makes sure that it has engaging attractions along the whole stretch of the park. This is also different from American parks because they are usually geared more toward general recreation, with smaller designated children’s play areas. I feel as though the design for Parque de la Infancia is very successful in its context. It works with the challenging landscape of the cerro, while still creating a safe area for children to play, by including things like the enclosed jungle jim pathway that protects children from the dangers of the busy street. It also engages people of all ages, by turning traditional children’s play areas into aesthetically pleasing attractions. Visiting this park was a very thought-provoking experience and I really enjoyed my time here.
Enclosed jungle jim bordering street
Tree houses above water sphere area
Water spheres attraction
Sketch map of Parque de la Infancia
Hi Hannah,
I had similar onswbeations to you regarding the landscape of the infant park. My hometown is known for Mill Creek Park and the children’s areas there are very flat with traditional slides and swings. I thought that the water spheres were an interesting play area. Structures similar to those in the U.S. are typically decoration and not designed for play. The water that I am used to in parks is a sprinkler where the children have an open space to run across while getting wet. I would feel nervous with children playing near hard concrete spheres.
I also thought that it was interesting to analyze Parque de la Infancia in relation to American parks. Throughout our trip I have noticed that much of the architecture and landscape in Santiago is a response to the existing environment. For example, because the park is on a hill, there is a slide park. Also the Adolfo Ibanez school used lots of bridges and ramps to access the different buildings. You don’t see this very often with American landscapes because structures are either built on flat surfaces, or the ground is flattened for construction. Parque de la Infancia works particularly well in this respect because as you said, it is situated in a challenging location with a Cerro on one side and a street on the other.