Helen Diller Playground
In February 2018, the Helen Diller Civic Center Playgrounds opened to provide one of San Francisco’s most unique playscape experiences. The two playgrounds were designed to serve the growing population in the Civic Center Historic District, providing a much needed space for families to enjoy. The playgrounds were inspired by the city’s foggy climate and feature a “cloud forest,” climbing features and a dynamic lighting feature.
The project was managed by the Trust for Public Land in partnership with San Francisco Recreation and Parks. The designers sought to create an iconic space that would draw both tourists and local families. Fog became the unifying concept for the design, providing inspiration for the play structures, fluid dynamic modeling, and form-found shapes. The lightness and transparency of fog balanced the need for open sightlines and a light touch on the plaza. The imaginative narrative of fog further enhanced the experience, providing something unique to San Francisco that could be appreciated across incomes, races, and languages.
