Sticks and Stones

Nestled in a woodland at the edge of the sea, Sticks and Stones is a site-specific nature play experience that invites visitors to discover its secret spaces and precious materials. Tall oak, maple, and pine provide canopy over a soft forest floor, while mature laurels meander the path and define the playrooms. The garden offers a series of landscape follies- boulder field, riverbed, and tangles of fallen trees- setting a stage for exploration and open-ended play.

With a nod to the sea, the site engages its materiality in a loose narrative of prehistory. Ancient sea fossils are cast throughout the riverbed emerging in steppers traversing a bed of pebbles and shells. Boulders line the river and are strewn in a field under towering oaks, one split to reveal its hidden crystals.

Denying the notion that spaces have to be isolated and one-dimensional, this playground is a garden and this garden is a playground. Sticks and Stones engages material, scale and narrative to inspire play in both obvious and obscure ways for users of all ages.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Location: Osterville, MA 

Project Type: Public Playground

Client: The Trustees of Reservations

Project Design: lu — la

Site Photos:  Jane Messinger