Aldo Van Eyck - Blog Posts

I couldn't include everyone in my piece my piece "Form, Function and Fun: Playgrounds as Art Education," so I'll have to do a follow up blog post discussing Aldo van Eyck's work and philosophy around play and playground design.

When Aldo van Eyck assumed work at the Amsterdam Public Works (Amsterdam Publieke Werken) one task soon became his focal point: the design of playgrounds accessible for every child in every neighborhood of the city. Until then there existed only secluded playgrounds initiated by playground associations of which children had to be member to gain access. On Jacoba Mulder’s initiative Van Eyck made a first design for the Bertelmanplein consisting of a sandbox in which four large rocks and an arch-shaped climbing frame were placed. This design was his point of departure for many more playgrounds to come (Van Eyck eventually realized some 700 of them) but also a testing ground for his ideas about architecture, relativity and imagination. Especially with regards to relativity. i.e. the non-hierarchical arrangement of the different components based on their mutual relationships, the playgrounds proved to be of great importance for Van Eyck’s theoretical reflections.

In 2002 the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam devoted an entire exhibition to Aldo van Eyck’s playground that was accompanied by the present catalogue: „Aldo van Eyck: De Speelplaatsen en de Stad“, edited by Liane Lefaivre & Ingeborg de Roode and published by NAi uitgevers. The catalogue collects a wealth of photos and drawings that in turn provide insights into a body work that in many ways appealed to the architect. For Aldo van Eyck the children’s perspective on city and architecture as well as the lighthearted creativity that went along with it were of integral importance. As the authors show, he had his play equipment designs tested by his own children and at the same time let himself inspire by artists and artworks he admired. The result were playgrounds that on the one hand appealed to children and on the other hand tell a lot about Van Eyck’s intellectual and creative reference system. Unfortunately only a fraction of them still exist today….