We approach outdoor environments for children with the intent to accommodate different ways of being in the world.

Intentional planning supports the full range of play for the development of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, dramatic play, sensory engagement and retreat. Studio Outside examines a site for a framework that has an inherent legibility for wayfinding with circulation centered on a path that generates a sense of discovery and exploration. Studio Outside looks for an opportunity to provide a gathering place and considers how a space looks and feels from the vantage of a child’s height and scale.

Currently, American adults spend about 7% of their time outside and children spend four to seven minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors compared to over seven hours on digital devices.

Time spent in nature supports mental well-being, improved physical fitness, and social-emotional health. As a vulnerable population with limited independent mobility and a genuine dependence on others, children have increased barriers to accessing nature. Concurrently, they are at the height of their developmental neuroplasticity. Nature encourages literal connections or increased neurological synapses of young children’s developing brains.