In 2024, Conner Prairie opened a new, 2-mile trail system through a previously unprogrammed area on the property. This hardwood playground was proposed as part of an educational hub along the trail system. For this project, I served as the concept designer and 3D modeler. The trail hubs were eventually put on hold for further development, and this project has not been built yet to date.
Click here to view the 3D model in SketchUp
The design for this hub was already completed, though not yet constructed, when I took on this project. The bottom two photos above show the design and a 3D model of this blank design. The first six photos show how this design was further developed out to turn this into a hub that not only talked about the importance of hardwoods, but also included a natural playground made of hardwood structures.
For the educational components, information panels were integrated into the walls that separate the various levels from the elevated trail down to the prairie below. The change in elevation also lended itself to some fun play structures, including slides and tree stump steps.