World Fence News

Last winter, a Johnston, R.I. land- scape architectural firm and fencing contractor Liberty Fence, Inc. of Cov- entry, R.I. teamed up to construct a really cool playground fence that con- forms to all applicable standards and guidelines, but in a fun, colorful way that enhances the playscape, not just serves as a protective barrier. Lucas Murray, president of 4 Site Landscape Architecture and a certi- fied playground safety inspector, said his thinking went like this: "When asked to think about what makes a playground fun and engag- ing, most people will automatically conjure up images of their favorite childhood slide, swing, or other simi- lar elements. It's rather unlikely many would give even a thought to the fence that surrounded their play areas as a child, much less identify it as unique or exciting," he said. "Yet most play- grounds require some sort of contain- ment, typically in the form of a fence, to meet ASTM and Consumer Prod- uct Safety Commission standards and guidelines for commercial playground safety. It would seem natural that fencing should be integrated as part of the playscape, not relegated to the sidelines." Murray said this led his firm to approach fencing a little differently when it comes to some of their play- scape designs, such as a playscape project at the Over the Rainbow Childcare Center in Johnston, R.I. It was one of eight daycare facility fences that 4 Site and Liberty Fence were working on, but taking a more basic approach, noted Liberty Fence president Justin Czar, a 16-year fence industry veteran. "When an initial design concept for a colored polycarbonate fence along the front of the play area was posing difficult challenges that would have made the project go over budget and fall behind schedule, we quickly shifted gears," said Murray. "Work- ing in partnership with Liberty Fence, the plan for the front entry fence was revised to utilize an idea for a 'col- ored pencil fence' that was original- ly planned for the interior of the site. I worked with Justin from Liberty Fence to figure out the details for the unique fence." Details for the fabrication and in- stallation of the fence proved challeng- ing. In order to meet ASTM F2049 Standard Safety Performance Speci- fication for Fences/Barriers for Pub- lic, Commercial, and Multi-Family Residential Use Outdoor Play Areas, the team had to avoid using horizontal supports on the playground side of the fence that could be used to climb. A question arose as to how to sup- port the structure without sacrificing aesthetics. The solution was to utilize cedar poles that were tapered and shaped by hand, primed and painted, and set independently in a linear con- crete footing. Each pole is self-sup- ported by the footing, eliminating the need for additional back bracing. The result is a truly unique look- ing fence that is both functional and aesthetically interesting. The "pen- cils" brighten the facility while ensur- ing safe and compliant containment for the play area. The fence also com- plements the theme of the playscape design, the "Rainbow Room." "Thus far the new fence has met with rave reviews from parents, ad- ministrators, and children," said Mur- ray. "This provides the reinforcement for pushing designers to focus more on developing unique fencing con- tainments for play areas as opposed to automatically specifying for standard options. While developing a custom fence is no easy task, the result is a testament of what can happen when the imagination of a landscape archi- tect meets up with the innovation of a truly unique fabricator." The concept and preliminary planning for the pencil fence began last winter, with the installation being performed in May 2016. Czar provided some details on how the installation was performed: "At my first glance at the plans, I laughed a bit and jokingly asked him what the real plans were," said Czar. "Luke told me at that point he was se- rious. So I asked him how much time we had to complete it. He told me about two weeks (including fabrica- tion, paint and installation). "So in that time frame we need- ed to draw, prime and stain the posts six different colors. I am always up for a challenge, but this was going to be a tight deadline," Czar said. "I let "Colored pencil" design adds fun factor to daycare center fence A fence is a fence is a fence, right? Not to the landscape architect and fence contractor who teamed up to build this striking "colored pencil" fence for the Over The Rainbow daycare facility in Johnston, Rhode Island. Was it easy? No way. But the fence conforms to all applicable standards and guidelines for commercial playground safety, with an added artistic touch. A colored polycar- bonate material was considered at first, but posed too many budgetary and time challenges. Primed and stained custom fabricated cedar posts proved to work just as well. The bottom photo was taken by Justin Czar using a drone. (Photos courtesy Liberty Fence) continued on page 80 WORLD FENCE NEWS Celebrating our 32nd year of publication • Visit us online at www.worldfencenews.com • AUGUST 2016 & Industrial Fencing Solutions Residential, Commercial Additional Products on Back Manufactured In-House! Ship Anywhere in USA! CALL 1-888-487-3448 OR VISIT IRONWORLDFENCING.COM Proudly Made in the U.S.A. Iron & Aluminum Panels ALUMINUM PANELS IRON PANELS

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