Innovative Play Space Designer Matthew Urbanski will be a keynote sp
eaker for the 2017 Conference on the Value of Play: Where Design Meets Play, April 2-5 at Clemson University.
Matthew is a landscape architect and Principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates in New York, NY. He lectures regularly on design of play spaces in the landscape and how spatial complexity, particularly when combined with plants and other natural materials, supports an integration of active and imaginative play. Examples from Matthew’s work in playground design include Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, a riverfront park in Tulsa, Hoboken’s Pier C Park, the Union Square Park Playground and Teardrop Park in Manhattan, and Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
US Play Coalition Steering Committee Member Teri Hendy introduced us to Urbanski. “Matt and his amazing team of designers at MVVA are responsible for creating some of the most forward thinking play environments in the US today. Matt sculpts the earth creating three-dimensional spaces that contain a wide range of types of settings that truly engage people of all ages beckoning them to join in the play.” Hendy, who is president of Site Masters Inc., has worked with Urbanski on several projects in Germany. She continued, “Architects and designers across the globe are gaining design inspiration from Matt’s play environments. I think we are truly blessed to have the opportunity to hear him speak.”
Matthew’s keynote remarks will examine lessons learned from designing play spaces. His presentation is called, “Designing for Fun: Making Play Spaces that City Kids (and Parents) Love”