helsinki, finland

Just North of Finland's capital, in the suburbs of Helsinki, lies a recently renovated children's play park, Leikkipuisto Lampi. Completely renovated in 2020, the park has a giant pirate ship, a wading pool, a trampoline, swings, and more.

Notts Sport has partnered with the Finnish authorised ChildsPlay installers Oy Piresma, based in Espoo, for over ten years, providing Finland with high-quality playground and park equipment.

Working with the City of Helsinki via Oy Piresma and from the design by Nakyma Architects, Notts Sport provided the safety surfacing for the playground area, with systems ranging from ChildsPlay Recreation to ChildsPlay 300, which boasts a critical fall height of up to 300cm. Another benefit of the ChildsPlay system is that it is thermally stable to withstand all types of weather in Finland, so no shrinkage occurs in the extreme cold.

The surfacing includes an array of intricately cut sea creatures surrounding the play equipment and a large paddling pool, sparking the children's imagination. They can be deep sea divers hunting for treasure or Aquaman saving the world!

More than just a park, the area has developed into a community hub where groups can meet up and relax in a safe environment. Children can sit and read or get involved in group play. In the summer, free food is offered daily.

In 2021 Oy Piresma was selected to resurface the daycare centre Blomängen, located in a scenic area east of Helsinki. The playground was expansive and broken into four regions: a tarmac running track, a bark free space, a fenced area with slides and a sandpit for the younger children at the nursery, and a sloped play area consisting of slides and scramble nets for the older children.

These two play areas were installed with VHAF NottsSward Olive Green with Fjord Blue paths, with critical fall heights of up to 300cm. The artificial turfs are ideal for a busy nursery, as low maintenance and hard-wearing while also being comfortable underfoot.