Stenton Park Recreation Center & Playground
In a historic but underserved North Philadelphia community, Viridian stretched a modest municipal budget to design a versatile, fully accessible playground that serves multi-generational families across every season. By preserving the site's mature canopy and specifying durable, low-maintenance materials, we delivered a park that costs less to maintain—and gives the neighborhood more to use.
A Site—and a Community—with history
VLS partnered with Atkin Olshin Schade Architects, Hunt Engineering, and the Philadelphia Department of Public Property to reinvigorate the dated playground and recreation center at Stenton Park in North Philadelphia. The site has a rich history as part of the Stenton House Estate; and many residents come from the diverse, multi-generational community surrounding the park to enjoy it.
Durable by Design: A Generational Playground
Residents depend on the recreation center and the park’s numerous amenities. It was important to us to create an engaging place that would serve their needs for years. We used plantings and durable materials like rubber play surfacing to deter vandalism and reduce maintenance costs, ensuring future spending can be used on new improvements.
A Playground for Every Age and Every Season
The new playground is fully accessible and provides safe, colorful, non-prescriptive play equipment designed to inspire and challenge kids of all ages. During hot summer days, a sprayground is an essential addition, offering fountains and spray hoops that can be used for play even in winter. Preserved trees surrounding the updated playground keep the site cool.
To sustain this vital landscape, we minimized grading and designed the new play and picnic areas to weave between the existing canopies, ensuring generations of North Philadelphia families can enjoy the same shade.
