Di Silvestro Playground
A dynamic neighborhood hub for health and recreation.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Client: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation
Size: 1.9 acres
Project status: Construction completed 2016
Project team: Ground Reconsidered, VSBA Architects & Planners (prime)
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) joined with the City of Philadelphia in a public-private partnership to create the South Philadelphia Community Health and Literacy Center. This innovation facilities combines a City Health Center, a CHOP primary care practice, a branch of the Free Library, and a City Recreation Center with playground, covering one square block on a major City arterial street. Ground Reconsidered was the landscape architect on the team, responsible for the design of both the streetscapes surrounding the site and the new Di Silvestro Playground, which includes a basketball court, sprayground, game tables, and play equipment for children ages 2-12. A rain garden captures stormwater run-off from the adjacent recreation building’s roof. An additional stormwater system is located under the playground to help manage the remainder of the site’s impervious areas. Ground Reconsidered worked closely with the design team and the project owners and stakeholders to make this vision a reality.
The project received a 2017 Award of Excellence from the Philadelphia Urban Land Institute.
