The rolling cork | Isaura Fonseca

THE rOLLING cORK is a proposal of a new equipment for fun and entertainment that will join the 3 generations in different activities. The concept of this equipment came from the virgin shape of the cork, the trunks of the corktree. The idea is to play on the nature, like children when they start climbing small obstacles and try to reach the top of the tree. The behaviour of the trunks is variable, some are immovable and others roll, in order to avoid accidents. So the cylinders top are fixed, and the center ones move around an axis that is supported on the extremities by a steel column in each side. So the movements on this playground are as many as people want, such as: sit, climb, roll, lie on it, slide. The chosen material is obviously the cork: it is spongy and soft as safe, when people fall. The best property is the sustainability, it is natural and not toxic. Futhermore, it is also a material that actually has more production than application, and this is a way to run off the raw. We propose to paint the cylinders because in one hand the cork needs some treatment to resist the external environment and in another hand the colour is part of the imagination of the children. The green is the colour of the hope and nature, at the same time it give us a relaxing sensation. The design shows one way to join the cylinders, but they can be positioned in many other ways. Other possibility is to use some modules and do a bigger playground leaning them in lenght or in width. Rolling cork has versatitily of assembly.