Matrix was the prime consultant for a group of firms that integrated their expertise to create a play and park environment that challenges the user to think outside the box. A picnic shelter/restroom anchors the site for ease of use by playground, park, and regional trail users. The bones of the playground provide a launching point for children to create their own worlds, whether performing on the stage for an actual or make-believe audience, playing budding paleontologists exploring the buried stegosaurus, or scrambling up Goat Hill and discovering tree forts overlooking the entire site.

The Big Toy structure develops both gross and fine motor skills through unconventional play apparatus, while a water feature provides visual, auditory, and tactile contrast, as well as relief from Colorado’s dry climate. Visitors can sit at the water’s edge and be transported away from the urban environs by the sound of water cascading from one pool into another.

Landscape features enhance the nature play experience by creating “rooms” using different varieties of plants to shape space and encourage exploration. The sustainable landscape uses native and drought-tolerant species to respond to environmental conditions. The water feature channels runoff from the building and the site, filtering it as it winds toward Little Dry Creek.