Come as you are

The project consisted of the recon­s­truc­tion of the exis­ting, negle­cted, play­ground area next to the elemen­tary school in Umag.

This year, in Umag, the project for the sports field next to the Elemen­tary School of „Marija i Lina“ was completed in Umag, which turned the previously abban­doned and unused school sport field into a gathe­ring place for citi­zens, athletes and children.

The play­ground was desi­gned by archi­tect Nenad Marić, and the investor was the Muni­ci­pa­lity of Umag. The project consisted of the recon­s­truc­tion of the exis­ting, negle­cted, play­ground area next to the elemen­tary school in Umag.

The project task included the recon­s­truc­tion of the play­ground space and the trans­for­ma­tion of the surroun­ding envi­ron­ment.

The new “schoo­lyard” now belongs to the pupils in the mornings, but is open to the general public during non-school hours.

The context is defined by a wide regional road with round­abouts, a school’s sports hall and a spacious green area, while the exis­ting condi­tion of the play­ground consisted of three basic elements: field – sports field area, track – surroun­ding the field and embank­ment – around the track.

The school play­ground is a space intended for children, school­children, but also a space that did not have its users in the hours when classes are not taking place.

Apart from the fact that the demand for a desi­gned outdoor sports faci­li­ties is growing every day (which was espe­ci­ally evident during the period of rest­ric­tions related to the pandemic), we were guided by the idea that space affects peop­le’s habits and that well-desi­gned space can gene­rate new acti­vi­ties of socia­li­zing and meeting.

With the idea of ​​invol­ving citi­zens, a school play­ground was desi­gned that should be open and adapted to ever­yone.

The design of the space was approa­ched with the aim of elimi­na­ting visual and spatial barriers to the context, school and gree­nery, and with the inten­tion of opening play­grounds to the city, while paying atten­tion to stan­dards, methods and prin­ci­ples of desig­ning sports faci­li­ties.

By placing circular elements, with contents for rest and socia­li­zing, all three elements (path, field and embank­ment) are connected. In the circular elements, sports stands, benches for socia­li­zing and elements for athletes’ rest are formed.

So, in addi­tion to the “orange circles” connec­ting the play­ground with the context and repre­sen­ting new entrances to the play­ground across the embank­ment, the circles also become places which open views towards the play­ground and all sports faci­li­ties.

Nenad Marić has turned a negle­cted schoo­lyard into an extre­mely colourful and commu­ni­ca­tive sports centre.

The program consists of two basket­ball courts, one hand­ball and one futsal court, outdoor gym, long-distance jumping area, table tennis space and volley­ball courts. Follo­wing the criteria of sports plan­ning and program-defined contents, sport fields are laid in a north-south direc­tion, in order to ensure equal condi­tions for ever­yone to play sports.

Hori­zontal graphics, carpet struc­tures, are also used as an element of defi­ning the space, crea­ting a system of inter­spaces for indi­vi­dual sports.

In addi­tion to gene­ra­ting a pulsa­ting public space and sports revi­ta­liza­tion of the wider city center, the project also creates all the prere­qui­sites for profes­sional and recrea­tional sports.