A new Denver-area playground designed and built by 18 students in the University of Colorado Boulder Program in Environmental Design (ENVD) will celebrate its grand opening this Saturday, June 3, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The newly-completed playscape is located at Kendall Apartments in Lakewood, an affordable housing community serving 48 families and 65-plus children. The owner of the community, Northeast Denver Housing Center (NDHC), first approached environmental design instructor Jeremy Ehly about replacing the existing meager playground structures.
Partnering with the NDHC, Ehly's students began working on the new playground as their junior year praxis project—handling everything from fundraising and community outreach to design, fabrication and construction.
Who: Open to the public
What: Ribbon-cutting ceremony
When: Saturday, June 3, 4 p.m.
Where: Kendall Apartments playground
To inform the design and identify what would be most valuable to the community, the students held meetings and completed door-to-door interviews at the apartment complex, resulting in specially designed play equipment requested by the children and multi-sensory spaces that put all residents in touch with native vegetation and a serene environment at home.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new playscape, located at 1760 Kendall St., will start at 4 p.m. and feature remarks from the student design/build team, the NDHC and representatives from the city of Lakewood. Light refreshments and drinks will be provided.
