By Soft Play

Creating a safe and inclusive school playground is paramount for productive playtime. Custom color surfacing materials enhance a play area’s visual appeal and provide safety. Kids will look forward to recess and parents will appreciate having a safe place to take their children after hours.

Discover where you can buy custom color surfacing materials for playgrounds and explore factors to consider before partnering with a provider.

1.������ No Fault Surfaces

has been providing safe and secure surfaces since 1974. It developed the first poured-in-place rubber safety flooring, making it one of the best custom-color surfacing materials providers for playgrounds. Almost all of the company’s products contain recycled materials, most of which are eligible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits.

to create your custom color blend of poured-in-place rubber flooring and have it sent along with your quote request.

Key features:

• Offers two types of poured-in-place surfacing: ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV)
• �鶹������ a five-year warranty for poured-in-place floorings
• Enables choosing colors or getting recommendations from staff based on project specifications
• Provides long-lasting warranty coverage
• Requires minimal routine maintenance

2.������ Landscape Structures

offers various playground items, from equipment to surfacing solutions. It has championed environmental stewardship since 1998. Its team understands that good design matters in play quality, allowing you to embed various colors and shapes into your desired surfacing material. Regardless of your playground size, expect to get a personalized approach throughout the entire process. to compare different flooring options.

Key features:

• Champions sustainable practices in every project
• Has in-house, experienced designers to create your dream playground surfacing
• Offers 70 distinct color palettes and hundreds of color combinations
• Allows multiple surfacing types in a single playground

3.������ FlexGround

is an International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association-certified (IPEMA) provider specializing in playground flooring, splash pads, athletic courts, recreational trails and aquatic parks. Its poured-in-place rubber safety surfacing can be customized with various patterns, colors and your school logo and is available in six types: standard, EnduraFlec, UltraFlex, Xtreme Playground, FlexPlay and FlexBond.

Choose UltraFlex if quality is your main deciding factor, as its two-layer system can protect students using swings and high-impact playground equipment.

Key features:

• Has six types of customizable poured-in-place options
• Offers a comprehensive color chart
• Designs playgrounds that create a three-dimensional play experience for students
• Transforms flat surfaces into multilevel play experiences

4.������ Little Tikes Commercial

Consider if you’re building a school playground from scratch. You can buy custom color surfacing material and equipment for your play area that’s compliant with Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, prioritizing accessibility and inclusivity in every project.

If you don’t know where to start, Little Tikes Commercial staff can guide you through the various surfacing options and their age-appropriateness. Custom color options are available for No Fault® Poured-in-Place surfacing, rubber tiles and rubber nuggets.

Key features:

• Offers big sales
• Considers age-appropriateness when suggesting ideal surfacing materials
• Allows customization on various flooring materials

5.������ Play & Park Structures

Purposeful play is at the heart of , a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based playground equipment provider servicing schools, parks and recreation centers, faith-based institutions and landscape architects. It specializes in designing playgrounds to support early development and growth among preschoolers, making it an ideal option if your institution mainly caters to this age group. Among its surfacing material options, only poured rubber, shredded rubber and tile flooring allow customization.

Key features:

• Prioritizes inclusive play
• Offers various thicknesses to provide your desired impact attenuation
• Lets you add logos and simple games like hopscotch and tic-tac-toe on poured-in-place rubber

6.������ Northwest Playground Equipment Inc.

The family-owned business has been providing playground since 1996. It has worked with various elementary schools, creating inclusive and ADA-compliant play areas. The company also works with manufacturers with LEED certifications to support your school’s sustainability efforts.

Safety tiles and poured-in-place rubber offer plenty of design and color options, allowing you to create an aesthetically pleasing play area for students.

Key features:

• Offers loose fill and unitary surfacing
• Has color options and landscape features or hills for playground grass
• Provides a free site evaluation
• Employs professionals who can create interactive designs, provide on-site supervision and dedicate long-term support

Things to Consider When Choosing a Custom Color Surfacing Material

How do you know which surfacing material is right for your school? Here are some factors to consider before making a purchase.

Safety

Choose a provider that meets the fall protection standards of a certified playground safety inspector. Ensure your chosen surfacing material is fully tested for various fall heights to reduce the risk of injuries among students.

Accessibility

The ADA states that playground surfacing options must accommodate all individuals, including those using crutches and wheelchairs. Look for a provider that meets or exceeds ADA’s regulatory standards.

Durability and Maintenance Needs

School playground surfacing must be durable to handle regular use and easy to maintain to reduce the spread of disease-causing germs.

Customization

Work with a company that can turn your vision into reality. Prioritize a provider with a design team that can help make your school playground visually appealing without compromising safety. Consider incorporating educational designs like alphabets, maps, numbers and interactive games to transform your play area into a learning space.

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The role an architect has on student environments can extend well beyond the physical walls of a classroom. Case in point: A new 24,000-square-foot accessible, inclusive playground recently debuted at Williamson Elementary School in Houston’s Galena Park Independent School District, which serves more than 21,000 students, many of whom are economically disadvantaged. Twelve percent of Williamson Elementary students are enrolled in special education programs. The importance of inclusive design on playground means that all students — regardless of limitations, developmental issues or impairments — can experience the same sense of excitement and creativity with their peers, family and faculty. ��

A playground for all ��

The newly opened, $736,000 student playground, designed by Pfluger Architects, is a universally designed, sensory-rich environment that welcomes children of all abilities. The colorful and engaging outdoor space features accessible play equipment that ensures everyone can participate. The project goes beyond minimum accessibility standards to accommodate the widest possible array of physical and cognitive abilities, including rubber surfaces for wheelchairs and walkers, and a variety of equipment and activities that stimulate creativity and help children develop problem-solving skills through play.��

Key elements include a winding sidewalk path with control joints that provide tactile sensory experiences, a climbing sloped hill, and a tunnel for crawling, which encourage exploration and physical activity in a safe and stimulating environment. The project fosters an inclusive community where all children in the district feel supported and encouraged to discover their surroundings in a fun and engaging way.��

The project, which was completed in March 2024, has many unique components that were developed collaboratively between district officials and the Pfluger Architects team to ensure all students have a safe and fulfilling recreational space.����

“One unique aspect is the musical section, where students can sit or lie on the nearby hill and act as an audience, creating a playful performance space. The accessible sidewalk surrounding the playground also serves as a track where students can safely race and play,” said Merri Salazar, project manager at Pfluger Architects.����

Designing for access��

In addition to these flexible spaces, focusing on students with disabilities was paramount to the success of this inclusive design.����

“One of the key requirements for this project was ensuring the entire playground was wheelchair accessible, not just certain paths,” explained Salazar. “We had to carefully manage the grading throughout to ensure that slopes were within acceptable limits, allowing students to freely explore the whole space.”��

For example, the ramp up to the slide was designed with a 1:20 slope ratio, which allowed the Pfluger Architects team to avoid adding guardrails or large landing pads. This helped to keep it looking open and playful while still meeting accessibility standards.��

Now that the facility is completed and being utilized by students, staff, and families, the feedback has been positive and encouraging.����

“We received feedback from the client that classes are using the tunnel under the slide to practice sounding out words and letters, with the echo serving as a sensory reinforcement. This feature has become a fun and engaging way to blend learning with play,” Salazar said.��

Inclusive design trends��

While this project certainly is not the first of its kind, it does shine a light on the importance of creating equitable spaces for all students and considering accessibility in all aspects of school construction design and construction. Not only are accessibly designed spaces becoming more commonplace, but being able to adapt these spaces beyond their traditional recreational function is a trend that is likely to continue.����

“We’re definitely seeing a shift in culture. There’s a growing emphasis on creating equitable spaces — environments that are not only accessible to all but are also versatile and can be used frequently,” Salazar added. “The more people who can engage with these spaces, the better, especially when they serve multiple functions, such as outdoor learning environments.”��

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BOSTON, Mass.— Integrating inclusivity into the features and layout of built spaces is not a new concept. Ensuring that new construction and renovation projects provide accessible facilities for individuals with physical disabilities has been a requirement of practically any built space since 1990 when the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by then-president George H.W. Bush.��

While the ADA has become a standard within the built environment since being signed into law, existing buildings are still being improved and renovated to ensure access points suitably address end-user needs. Now, builders and designers of academic spaces need to consider another dimension of accessibility, which is inclusivity. Inclusive spaces not only address physical access, but also how individuals feel once inside. So, for planners and facilities operators in academic settings, ample consideration must be given to how these concerns are addressed.����

Comfort and Security: A Student Center for Now��

When a construction team focuses on inclusivity, it is crucial to recognize that, unlike ADA compliance, there isn’t a universal solution like installing a ramp to provide entry for a person using a wheelchair. Inclusivity and what it translates to in the built environment requires an open mind to the range of possibilities that will ensure every individual feels heard and welcome.����

This mindset was front and center when the new LGBTQIA+ Student Resource Center (The Center) at Boston University was designed and built. The Center aims to provide a dedicated space for all LGBTQIA+ students and allies to get support, find their community and create a sense of belonging at BU. The project sprung from the commitment of seven BU students who, in the spring of 2022, formed the LGBTQIA+ BU Student Task Force, a coalition dedicated to making BU more inclusive for LGBTQIA+ students. They were inspired by the University’s one-time LGBTQIA+ task force for faculty and staff members, whose work culminated in creating the LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff in 2021. When embarking on this project, meeting with students and faculty who would be prospective users of the space was critical to understanding what was most important from a features standpoint. And while this phase revealed that things like colors and textures deserve special consideration when building for inclusivity due to the symbolism those features can represent — both positive and negative — there are other important factors to weigh. For example:����

1. Security

The increased need for dedicated spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community carries a unique concern for security. At BU, the team chose to install glass doors with automatic openers that allow occupants to quickly and quietly open and close the space as needed based on personal comfort and outside events that may affect the safety of those within The Center.

2. Flexibility

Much of the feedback that drove the decision to renovate an existing space into The Center was around the need to be heard. Feedback from BU’s LGBTQIA+ community revealed the need for a space to share emotions, speeches, and other concerns amongst the sanctity of like-minded peers. As such, The Center features a large common area with specially designed flexible furnishings that can be modified to instantly accommodate informal or large-scale presentations.

3. Visibility

Large glass panels were included in the finished space to not only provide ample natural daylighting but also to ensure that students using the Center were seen — and not just in the physical sense. A key takeaway when considering building materials and layout was that students didn’t feel like they were being filed away, shuffled to a remote area, or otherwise hidden from view. This sentiment impacted all aspects of the project, from materials selection to communications with subcontractors. Ensuring that features like lighting could be adjusted across a wide array of colors to match students’ moods and working with subcontractors who understood the unique concerns of students seeking the comfort of the Center all tie back to the need for visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community. ����

Choosing a Supportive Construction Team����

When academic institutions seek to build new facilities or renovate existing ones, an eye toward inclusivity will likely become an ongoing concern from this point forward. We are optimistic that, like the green building movement that spurred building owners to begin integrating sustainable and energy-efficient features regardless of the overall scope, buildings that incorporate inclusive features will become the standard rather than the exception.����

When deciding how to choose a team that understands these concerns, it’s important to focus not only on a firm with higher education construction experience but also on one that integrates an institution’s cultural mission into its own. From working with subcontractors that respect the concerns of the campus community to having a deep bench of suppliers that can provide security and accent features that reflect the needs of students and faculty, it’s important to choose a construction manager that builds to a high standard while reflecting the values of the academic community.��

Tony Brown is a Project Executive at Chapman Construction/Design. Brown’s start in construction came when he was just 13, working for his father’s small construction company in Syracuse, N.Y. He joined Chapman in 2006 and has grown from an assistant construction supervisor to his current project executive role. He serves as Chapman’s education market leader and understands the importance of logistics, scheduling and occupant safety to ensure minimal disruption to operations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Marist College, a Building and Construction Technology Certificate from Northeastern University, a Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License and an OSHA 30-Hour Construction Certification. Additionally, he is a Phius Certified Builder and LEED Green Associate.��

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