Mountain Lake Park Playground in San Francisco

The Mountain Lake Park Playground renovation was initiated by a group of local mothers, in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. The women formed the ‘Friends of Mountain Lake Park Playground’ in 2010, after learning a renovation could only happen with community and volunteer support. With one of the lowest San Francisco Parks Alliance ratings in the district, visitors to the playground were worried that its deteriorating wooden structures created an unsafe play environment. Through funding from the Clean & Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond, a substantial donation from the ‘Friends’ group and assorted donations from the community, as well as donated services from our practice, Lutsko Associates, and Holmes Structures, the playground was restored.

This renovated playground takes advantage of the site’s topography, with separate play areas on terraces, organized according to age and ability, threaded together by a series of meandering pathways that provide an accessible route throughout. The project preserved a treasured concrete slide – the centerpiece of the playground – that cascades down the side of a large earthen mound. Midway on the journey to the top of the slide, an observation platform sits perched on a forest of steel columns, evocative of the trees in the surrounding park. The platform overlooks the preschool area below and nearby Mountain Lake. Openings in the platform provide framed moments of intrigue for the users both above and below.

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is an American architecture firm founded by Peter Bohlin and Richard Powell in 1965. Now with six offices, our work ranges greatly in scale and context—from significant civic, corporate, cultural, and university buildings to exceptional private residences, both large and small. From the beginning, our architecture has been distinguished by its extraordinary response to the varied natures of people and place, and how we make things. We have received more than 675 design awards to date, including eleven AIA National Honor Awards. Our work is regularly published in design journals worldwide.

Recommended by Luisa Bravo