Where in Zuidas
Hundreds of willow branches protrude from the muddy soil. Tree trunks have been playfully positioned at different angles and there are huge boulders in the centre of an amphitheatre built out of tiles and bricks. The newly-landscaped natural playground at Kindercampus Zuidas marks quite a contrast to the glistening façade of Valley right next to it. ‘They’ll soon be green with envy when they see how much the children enjoy playing here’, laughs Jan van Schaik, who designed and built the playground. ‘Design is a big word’, he says. ‘Of course, I always create a design, but most ideas happen on the spot. It was the same here: when we started to build the playground, I completely re-jigged the design.’
Designer also at play
It all started with a hole dug in the ground, edged with a stone bench – Van Schaik found materials in one of the City of Amsterdam’s depots nearby, where old street furnishing is stored. ‘I spotted a semi-circular shaped block and thought: perhaps I could use that? I then used leftover material to make the walls. And just look at this beech copse’, he points a short distance away. ‘That’s a hedge that used to be around the school. It now serves as a divider for the hut-building area.’ Much of the design develops organically during the creative process. Van Schaik’s eyes light up and he says: ‘When I’m building this kind of playground, I’m also playing. This is what I do for fun.’
Natural playground also had to move
In 2024, the Kindercampus is expected to move to a brand-new building in the Ravel residential neighbourhood. This means that the school will be moved by around 50 m as the crow flies, which is why the old natural playground also had to move last year. The school was determined to take a piece of nature with it and almost made it a condition for the move. It was successful. ‘It may still look pretty barren now, but everything will be growing and flowering here very soon’, says van Schaik, sticking his hand above his head. ‘Then, the trees and plants will be this high. In my view, a natural playground can be judged a success if there are as many places as possible for children to hide. And, equally importantly: play doesn’t really start for children until all the adults have gone.’
Willows
The natural playground is huge, three times the size of the old one. As we look around it, it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the layout: next to the hut-building area, there’s a central section for a large amphitheatre with a water-play area, and a climbing frame has been built from tree trunks stacked diagonally on top of each other. Van Schaik also shows us the area where the hundreds of willow branches protrude from the soil. The willow is his favourite tree, he says. ‘The great thing about it is: if you stick the branches into the ground, they develop roots and new trees can grow from them. These stems came from the old natural garden. We planted them together with children from the school. As soon as they get bigger, we’ll plant the saplings around the playground. He smiles. ‘They don’t call me Jan de Wilgenman (Jan the Willow man) for nothing. Basket willow, white willow, goat willow, eared willow and many more: I plant all kinds of varieties of willow in my natural playgrounds.’
The new natural playground will be officially opened at 08.30 on Tuesday, 7 March. As part of their Development-based Education, the school students are taking the lead in organising this celebration, supervised by the school management. Director Jet will interview Jan Van Schaik, the children will have an opportunity to plant willow branches and a willow dance will be held. A coffee cart will be available for the parents. The new natural playground will be open to the public on weekdays after school ends (from 14.15).
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