An airport-themed Proludic play area in Riga (Latvia) - Proludic

City: Riga (Latvia)

Proludic has designed and installed a new bespoke playground in the Latvian capital of Riga.

Situated close to Riga International Airport, this playground is an integral part of the large-scale Imantas sports centre development project located next to the city’s school complexes. A 10,000-m² space has been developed to encourage the local residents to be more active, have fun and relax in their neighbourhood.

The Proludic playground is inspired by the city’s nearby airport and is now the ideal place for letting children’s imagination take flight. They are immersed in a place where they can imagine flying their own plane or simply explore the world high above the ground before reaching their dream destination.

The area is organised around a 7.50-m high control tower and an aeroplane with a 19-metre wingspan. Many play equipment items are either connected to these two main components or stand alone to help recreate the mood of a bustling airport.

The key features of this playground are as follows:

The control tower, which is custom-built and accommodates a wide variety of elements to encourage active and imaginative play within the airport theme.

Aviation-themed interactive play panels produce light and sound both inside and outside the tower.
The wide upper platform with panoramic windows offers children an unrestricted view of the playground and a spiral slide for gliding back down to earth.
A roller slide attached to the base of the tower provides a fun sensory experience for young children.
Light-generating wind turbines resembling aviation light signals have been installed all around the roof.

The inclusive cargo plane (J2690) has been customised using the colours of the national airline “Air Baltic”.

An access ramp and wide platforms enable children in wheelchairs to enter and move around easily inside the plane.
There are various educational play panels to fire the imagination, such as the electronic play panel in the cockpit that produces the sound of the plane taking off when children turn the wheel.

The front and rear wings include play activities for children aged 5 to 10 years, such as a standard swing, a pod swing, a ladder, a slide, a Speed Gliss and a Gyrosat.

A gangway connects the plane to the control tower and forms an entertaining and challenging trail.

The play features include four different tunnels, a climbing wall, a ladder, slides and aviation-themed play panels.

Another bespoke item is the plane about to take off (J2689), which houses a tube slide accessible via a curved ladder. The platform offers panels with imaginative shapes.

“Everyone can play” – children of all ages can enjoy the fun of “flying”

With rope games mounted on undulating cloud-like shapes, children can immerse themselves in imaginative play. They can climb, crawl and slide, giving them the sensation of playing in the sky.

An innovative luggage trolley track with three wagons linked together encourages children to interact and coordinate their efforts in order to make the small vehicles move forward.

The play space also includes:

Twiny (J834) and Helicopter springers (J836), and the themed Looping springer (J3961)
Inclusive trampolines (R34-ETP-500)
Inclusive roundabout (J2409)
Interactive “Light-It-Up” challenge (J3451-R) with its light and sound features
The interactive electronic game (J3450) with its selection terminal for choosing between reflex, memory and speed play options
A Cableway (J514), Rodeoboard (J3501) and Aeroskate (J2581-M)

Not just a playground… a real community attraction

The opening ceremony in July was a great success, attended by hundreds of children and families.

During the event, the head of the nearby Imantas school complex spoke about the expected benefits of this large-scale development, saying that “we’re now receiving applications from students at other schools, even those from neighbouring towns. We expect the intake of students to increase in the new school year thanks to this project.”

This is the third major project that has been implemented to revitalize the city of Riga.

All three projects have included playgrounds designed and produced by Proludic.

To find out more about the “Riga, a spectacular playground” project in Barona Street, click HERE.

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