Theories Landscapes Company Profile
Theories Landscapes is passionate about improving the quality of all children’s play and has been designing and building playgrounds for children of all ages and abilities for more than 25 years.
We design integrated solutions drawing upon a rich palette of design and build skills that include innovative play solutions, landscaping, and decorative arts to create sympathetic social and play contexts that are responsive and unique to their specific circumstances.
The company designs ‘holistic’ play spaces or playscapes, creating multifunction and multilayered play environments that enrich a child’s experience through physical activity and imagination, whilst also contributing to the local environment and the community it sits within.
We believe that play is a complicated phenomenon encapsulating fantasy play, running-about, watching leaves turn colour, or just chatting, as well as the more traditional play elements of slides and swings. A play area should be able to sustain and respond to all these demands and nuances.
Play should include a significant level of challenge with careful risk management rather than risk exclusion.
All our design solutions are robust and sustainable. Budgets are treated seriously, and our collective experience has taught us what can be done, for how much, and by when. Theories Landscapes designs play environments that are wholly independent of play industry manufacturers. We believe that the phenomenon of ‘play’ is, at its best, an infinitely more sophisticated and exciting activity than a traditional climbing structure in an expanse of safer surfacing can ever provide. We believe in involving children and the community at all stages in the design process wherever and whenever possible.
Every Context is Unique & Special
Each project is fresh and unique to particular circumstances or ambitions. Designs are based upon the budget and the brief, yet it is often the characteristics of the community and the physical geography that best inform the solution. Theories believe that no two play spaces should ever be the same. Difficult physical characteristics and challenging environments often produce the most interesting and exciting designs.
Community Consultation
We draw significant design insight and inspiration by working with user groups and local communities. The client’s ambitions are combined with our spatial expertise and invention to arrive at unique and special solutions. Consultation can take the form meetings, exhibitions, workshops, questionnaires, model making etc… The list is as long as budget allows.
Risk & Play
Theories Landscapes is committed to ensuring all risks within each playschem are carefully assessed and managed. In addition consideration to ensure inclusivity for all participants whether physically fit or with limited mobility.
Natural Playscapes
None of us will remember our favourite play space as being the school or park playground. It is more likely to be the illicit den or secret activity that just happened somewhere else. The company uses landscaping as a tool to divide spaces, enclose spaces, shield spaces, and defend spaces.
Collaborative Arts & Decorative Treatments
Where appropriate the company can incorporate collaborative artwork in order to harness a wider range of innate creative resources and skills. This helps the community gain ownership and control of a public space. Decorative treatments may take the form of painting, ceramic, mosaic or metalwork.
Sustainability
As playscape designers and builders we are keenly aware of how projects need to be maintained and use materials that are sustainable and easily repaired when necessary. Our designs are made in consideration of robustness and longevity and we utilise recycled materials, particularly plastics, where possible.
Reliability
Theories Landscapes is a specialist design and build play organisation with much experience of both designing and building to strict budgets and timescales. Our capacity to accurately cost a built element enables us to design to a fixed budget accurately. We are presently members of the Construction Line approved contractor data base with evidence of all insurance policies, Equal Ops policy; Environmental policy; Quality Policy; Health and Safety Policy. Theories Landscapes is also presently undertaking ISO 9001/2000 auditing and has a number of internal systems in place for documenting and managing projects.
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