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The Bicentennial Children’s Park in Santiago, Chile

On a steep, 10-acre plot on Santiago's San Cristobal Hill, Alejandro Aravena and the team at Elemental architects has been able to create an ingenious play area that maximizes every last bit of space. Seen here: observation towers for the tykes and a water feature made of concrete spheres.

On a steep, 10-acre plot on Santiago’s San Cristobal Hill, Alejandro Aravena and the team at Elemental architects has been able to create an ingenious play area that maximizes every last bit of space. Seen here: observation towers for the tykes and a water feature made of concrete spheres.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

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Alejandro Aravena’s firm Elemental is known for a wide range of design: office towers, educational buildings, social housing and urban design. For the Bicentennial Children’s Park in Santiago, a team of designers carved a children’s play area out of a steep hillside — an ingenious use of land in a neighborhood in need of green space.

Up the hill

A small funicular takes visitors up the hill to the top of the park. The park is geared at small children and toddlers -- and the ride on the funicular represents part of the adventure.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

From the top

A path at the top of the park provides some wide open views of Santiago (and its epic smog).   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Going down

To descend the hill, children then ride a sequence of 60 concrete slides that travel downward to additional play areas.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Space for swings

In some of the park’s broader flats, playground areas have been inserted -- such as this swing set, geared at infants and toddlers.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

A cafe area

A cafe area (currently unused) displays some interesting forms -- and provides valuable shade.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Connected by wooded paths

The different sectors are connected by paths that zigzag up and down the hillside. Benches have been laid out throughout to create rest areas for parents and kids.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

An imaginative play area

The park faces a busy thoroughfare, so a fence was needed to protect the play areas. But rather than build a plain fence and then install separate play equipment, the architects turned the fence (at left) into a wild jungle gym that can only be accessed from within the park. A terrific use of a narrow space.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

An overview

This map details the park’s various areas. The entrance is at bottom right. Various features have been marked with numbers. The circle marked #4 shows the series of five dozen concrete slides that have been carved into the hillside.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Testing out the slides

I checked out the park in the company of architect pal Tomislav Pavic, who is based in Santiago. Naturally, we had to test the dozens of slides out for ourselves. I am happy to report that they met with very discriminating standards of play.   (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

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