3. July 2023

Primary School in Munich, Germany

In the a district in Munich a new urban city quarter is emerging. The so called “Werksviertel” is approximately 39 hectare in size and is designed to connect life, housing and work. Here is where old and innovative ideas collide: a former industrial area and a project of new construction. In the late 1940s a company producing potato-based products was opened in “Berg am Laim” until it shifted locations in the 90s. At that same time, a large number of clubs were established and later the former industrial area was converted into a leisure- and party district. In 2016, the city Munich laid the groundwork for the remodelling of the area.

The about 1.250 flats built around the centre of the district as well as a new primary school complete the quarter. In order to make efficient use of the available space, the school building was constructed above the school gymnasium. The schoolyard features a grass field and an all-weather court for physical activity.

Responsible for planning the playground was the office Stautner + Schäf located in Munich. To represent the industrial flair the play equipment was chosen to be made of steel, also increasing to its longevity. Additionally, play equipment in a playground has to be designed for many children of different ages to climb on simultaneously. Aesthetics also played a role in choosing the equipment for the new and modern school. All those wishes combined led to working together with Berliner, resulting in a variety of colourful play structures and play points, designed to encourage students to move freely in their breaks while providing supervisors with enough vision to ensure their safety.

The children can look forward to a net tunnel with a length of about 12 metres, which allows them to climb in between two green areas. Petra Stautner, landscape architect at Stautner + Schäf reveals: “The concept initially provided that the tunnel was drawn through the trees already present on the playground, which would let the children make the special experience of climbing right through the treetops. Sadly however, the trees had to be removed during ordnance clearance.”

The Berliner Shout structure shaped like a four-leaf clover coloured in bright orange is a true highlight of the playground. The bird’s eye view further expresses this unique shape, shown by the Cloverwood at the town hall squale in the city of Hamm. This play equipment with a wooden frame was a foundation for the playground at the primary school.

The children can climb in a height of up to 3 metres across the net spanned between two curved tubes of steel. Climbing ropes as well as rubber mats round out this sculpture.
The clover leaf shape is a tradition at Berliner. The cloverleaf ring made of aluminium was an idea of founder Karl Köhler. It fixates the ropes in a spatial net without risking injury of the fingers while climbing and also provides exchangeability of single ropes.

The unique part of the Twist & Shout product group is the patented Charlotte Connector that lets the ropes disappear in the frame and simplifies the tensioning process. The Charlotte Connector is the only connecting element in the world that connects singular ropes directly to posts and tubes while at the same time allows for retensioning.