Hetty Startup's blog

There is less of me than before.
Pieces missing, thin strips of tape
I peel off carefully, a scar
that sweeps across emptiness.
We were so full of holiday plans,
timetables, organising collections,
meeting deadlines, rushing,
running, shouting hurry, hurry.
Now there is only the stillness
of the rain against the window.
But when you helped me so slowly,
so carefully into that first bath
after surgery, the bubbles
humming hallelujah,
and you looked at me
not as some broken, battered alien being
but with such patience, such kindness,
I thought this is what forever means,
in sickness and in health.

Zorlu Center playground / © IJreka

Since its founding nearly 20 years ago, Carve Landscape Architecture in the Netherlands has become one of the most interesting landscape architecture firms creating adventure-filled playgrounds. Their projects are immediately recognizable, with their use of bold colors, architectural forms, and incorporation of challenging obstacles, including steep-looking climbing objects and chutes and slides. Their embrace of strong forms and color and adventurous play makes the typical American playground, which has been made so safe out of the fear of lawsuits, look rather bland and tame in comparison. Their playgrounds are like parkour courses for kids, of all ages. Increasingly international, they’ve moved beyond the Netherlands to create exciting new projects in Turkey and Singapore.

In Istanbul, Turkey, Carve partnered with mutlti-disciplinary design firm WATG last year to create Zorlu Center playground, the largest in Istanbul. The result is a play space like no…