Elise Smith School

A playground that unites, challenges and inspires. Elise Smith’s new Constitution Staircase has been designed as a multifunctional feature that elegantly combines rest, play and movement.

The staircase serves both as a connection between the playground’s levels and as an active, playful centrepiece. With its distinctive form, it becomes a natural meeting point for pupils and visitors alike – a place to gather, play and explore. The staircase displays the school’s own constitution, creating a meaningful connection between the new outdoor areas and reinforcing the school’s core values:

1. Take care of your fellow human beings – big and small

2. Intervene when you see bullying

3. Respect others as they are

4. Treat others as you want to be treated

5. Take care of the school’s and other people’s belongings

These values become a visible and positive focal point in everyday life. Around the staircase, low-level play elements have been integrated, making use of the terrain, slopes and a variety of surfaces and textures. This gives the playground a distinctive character and invites children to explore both movement and sensory experiences.

Along the sides of the staircase, motorically challenging balance routes wind their way, expanding on the qualities of the existing playground. Here, children encounter wobbling and swinging elements, stepping pads, mirrors, slides, climbing holds and other playful challenges at different heights. The playground is completed by a fast and popular slide that carries children from the top of the area straight down to the ball fields in just a few seconds – a thrilling shortcut full of speed, laughter and excitement.

The result is a playground that creates coherence, encourages play and movement, and offers natural places to meet.