A current trend in water playgrounds is to use outdoor spaces as Active water play landscapes to create: Children pump water, direct it over channels, dam it up with flaps and experience how the direction of flow and amount of water change. The water play area in the Knudsen Park in Holladay, Utah is a very good example of this form of networked water feature in public spaces.
The installation is based on robust stainless steel water feature elements, as supplied by Kaiser & Kühne via its North American partner Goric Marketing Group USA supplies.
The location - city park in the historic „Knudsen's Corner“
The Knudsen Park is located in Holladay, a suburb of Salt Lake City on the edge of the Wasatch Mountains. The site is part of the historic „Knudsen's Corner“ area and was formerly used for agricultural and commercial purposes. Today, in addition to the water play area, the park offers a playground, a hammock garden, lawns, a pavilion, an outdoor classroom and walking paths - a versatile meeting place for a city with a population of around 32,000.
The city of Holladay presents the park on its website as an important component of the municipal open space provision and provides information about the facilities, opening times and location. More information can be found on the City of Holladay to Knudsen Park.
The task - more than just a classic splash pad
Instead of a simple „splash pad“ with jets and fountains, the city wanted a Water play landscape, active in children:
- Set the water in motion,
- Control paths and branches yourself,
- Try out different flow speeds,
- and experience scientific phenomena in a playful way.
The facility should also offer quality time for parents and grandparents, be easily visible and blend in with the design of the other park areas.
Our solution - stainless steel water feature with channels, weirs and screw
The water play area comprises around 4,000 square feet (approx. 370 m²) and is slightly terraced in the park. Above a concrete surface is a system of Stainless steel channels, basins and storage elements which distributes the water to different levels.
Characteristic elements are
- Hand pumps and cranks
Children activate the water flow themselves - nothing happens automatically, but through their own movements. - Channels, weirs and flaps
Adjustable gates and dams allow the Direction and quantity of the water flow. Children decide together where the water should run. - Archimedean screw
An Archimedean screw transports water visibly upwards and visualises physical principles such as power transmission and height difference. - Natural materials
Sandstone blocks, gravel and plants anchor the stainless steel elements in a landscape reminiscent of natural streams and irrigation ditches.
The technical components are based on modular systems such as our Water play systems and supplementary Water play equipment, designed for a long service life, high utilisation intensity and good maintenance accessibility.
Learning through play - understanding water in public spaces
In Knudsen Park, great importance was attached to ensuring that children not only „splash around“, but also Understanding connections can. The sequence of pumping, opening, steering, accumulating and diverting provides support:
- Basic scientific experience (gradient, flow velocity, volume),
- Fine motor skills by turning, pulling and actuating the controls,
- social skills, because children have to co-ordinate in order to make sensible use of the entire waterway,
- Attention and perseverance, as many children stay longer at one station and always try out new variations.
Specialist articles such as the article „Outdoor Water Laboratories Gaining Ground“ by Goric show how this type of networked water play landscape is becoming increasingly important in North America - and cite Knudsen Park as one of the examples.
History of the place and commitment of the citizens
The area has a long history: it was settled in the 19th century by Rasmus Knudsen from the Netherlands and has served as a mill site, family camp and farm over the decades. Water and irrigation played a central role - a motif that is deliberately taken up in today's water play area.
When a developer wanted to build an office complex on the site, citizens campaigned to preserve it as a public green space. With the help of a municipal bond and funding (including from the Land and Water Conservation Fund), the city was able to acquire the land and develop it as a park.
Result - strong water play landscape with model character
Today the Water play area in Knudsen Park a much-used meeting place for families and children in Holladay. The installation shows how hydrologically inspired water play concepts can be realised with high-quality stainless steel elements in public spaces - embedded in a park design that combines history and the present.
Together with partners such as Goric Marketing Group USA Kaiser & Kühne is now realising such projects at several locations. Another example with a major focus on water is our Water playground at Gatton Park in Lexington.
