customer case

Lynwood Mega Playground

Case Details

Location

United States

Customer

SWA Group, City of Lynwood

Age Group

2-5, 5-12

USER CAPACITY

250+

Standout Playground Area

When city officials in Lynwood, California, set out to build a new playground, their goal was to honour the area's Space Age heritage while updating the theme to reflect a more contemporary vision. Working closely with the City and landscape architecture firm, KOMPAN developed a state-of-the-art play solution featuring a 22-foot-wide Saturn Sphere with revolving rings, drawing visitors into its orbit.

Watch the film

Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 2
"How many rings can we actually afford to have? What's happening in the Sphere? What's the size of the Sphere? It's a lot of details that we couldn't figure out on our own."

Ying-yu Hung, PLA - Managing Principal, SWA Group

Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 2
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 3
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 4
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 5
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 6
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 7
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 8
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 9
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 10
KOMPAN 241101 LYNWOOD 018
Lynwood Mega Playground - Image 12
KOMPAN 241101 LYNWOOD 013

Every design element of the Saturn Sphere and its surrounding multistory rope net structure was crafted to evoke a sense of motion. Freestanding spinning equipment represents moons, meteors, satellites, and other celestial bodies orbiting Saturn, while the Sphere’s intricate netting encourages children to crawl, climb, and navigate through its rings—ascending, descending, and weaving through its spiraling levels and internal net tunnels.

Integrating a slide into the main structure was a priority, but preserving its planetary form was equally important. KOMPAN Design Studio’s designers and engineers solved this by developing an internal slide seamlessly built into the structure’s single-column support system. The use of Coromesh, a flexible diamond-shaped mesh unique to KOMPAN, allowed for the creation of Saturn’s three-dimensional, spiraling levels. To enhance the experience, landscape architects incorporated an "oculus" cap, opening up the skyward view and filling the play space with natural light. Handmade canvas panels provide internal shading, arranged in a pattern that mirrors the dynamic movement of the equipment.

"On the recreation side, we just have the vision and what's needed, but we don't know the details. And KOMPAN was an ideal partner in bringing that part of the vision together."

Mark Flores, Director of Recreation and Community Services, Lynwood, CA

Lynwood Mega Playground - History

Other space exploration-themed playground equipment at Lynwood Mega Playground includes a 30-foot-tall rocket-themed GIANT that pays homage to the site's original play structure from the 1960s. A 86-foot 'constellation walk' lets kids engage in rope play underneath a grove of native trees integral to the park's broader sustainability efforts. A 'Mars Rover' Toddler Playground gives 2- to-5-year-olds the opportunity to discover their own planet of age-appropriate thematic play.

PHYSICAL
Games area to help elevate fitness, muscle and bone strength, motor skills and cognitive function.
Cognitive
Joy of learning: curiosity, understanding of causal relationships and knowledge of the world
SOCIAL - EMOTIONAL
A safe space to help children nurture their social skills through teamwork and provide a sense of belonging. Decreasing a Child's stress and increasing their joy while on holiday.
Creative
Joy of creating: co-creation and experimenting with materials

Want to know more about custom cases like this?

Please fill in your contact details and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Want to see more cases like this?

St Dominic Catholic Primary School

Children are playing on a playground structure in a school yard

St Nicholas School, United Kindgdom

large playtower with multiple slides at Drayton Manor

Drayton Manor, United Kingdom

Muiravonside Country Park, Falkirk

Chapelside Primary School, North Lanarkshire

Orchard County Primary School, County Armagh

Helmsdale Play Space, Highlands

Laygate Community School, Tyne and Wear

Playground

King George V Playing Fields

playground pirate ship at HooZoo in UK

Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World, Telford

Hallfields Primary School

Playground

Lister Park, Bradford

Clyde Primary and St Brendan’s Primary School within Clyde Campus

Jordanhill Primary School

Playground

Arrow valley – Redditch

Critchill School Playground

children playing on a rope brigde on a playground

Telford Town Park

playtower with net bridge and slide in a park

Severn Trent, Foremark Reservoir, United Kingdom

Rockhampton Botanical Gardens, Australia

Teens playing on play system for school-agers at Federal Hill Commons Park

Federal Hill Commons Park, United States

Children in Morgan Boyle Park playing on a supernova spinning playground equipment

Morgan Boyle, Canada

Boys playing on play system at rivergrove community centre

River Grove Community Centre, Canada

Children playing on play tower at Cawthra Park in Canada

Cawthra Park, Canada