Accessible Playground with Hot Air Balloons and the Golden Train

This large accessible playground by Psagot Playgrounds was designed as a multi-age public play environment with a strong hot air balloon theme and a dedicated story element - the Golden Train.

The first level of the main balloon-themed play structure is accessible for wheelchair users, allowing children to take part in the central play experience.

The playground also includes an accessible carousel, a parent-child swing, and a variety of play elements that support family use in a public open space.

Age Range

0-99

Users

150

Field

playgrounds

Accessible Playground with Hot Air Balloons and the Golden Train

About the Project and the Process

The project was planned as a broad public playground that combines inclusive play, visual identity, and a clear thematic concept.

Psagot Playgrounds developed the site for a municipal client and the contractor responsible for the neighborhood development, with the goal of creating a playground that serves a wide range of users while maintaining a strong design language.

The hot air balloon concept gives the playground a recognizable visual presence, while the Golden Train adds a second focal point with a clear narrative character.

Together, these elements create an accessible playground for municipalities, developers, and landscape architects that offers more than a single play structure - it creates a complete, varied, and engaging play environment.

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Highlights/Uniqueness of the Project

The main balloon-themed play structure includes accessible use across the entire first level, giving wheelchair users a meaningful place within the central play area. A colorful polycarbonate treatment was integrated into the balloon elements, strengthening the light, playful, and recognizable appearance of the structure.

Another major highlight is the Golden Train, completed here as a first execution. Its retro-style design, with special attention to the track and locomotive, gives the playground an additional themed attraction and a distinct visual anchor at ground level.

Client Requirements

The client required an accessible playground with a clear response for wheelchair users, a multi-age play layout, and a strong thematic element based on hot air balloons. The project also needed to give the Golden Train a visible and meaningful place within the overall playground, while supporting family use through elements such as the parent-child swing.

Design Phase

During the design phase, the main focus was on arranging the balloon structure, the Golden Train, the accessible carousel, and the swings as one coherent playground system. Accessibility was planned practically into the first level of the main structure, so that the inclusive experience would be part of the central play activity rather than a separate addition.

Because the playground was planned for multiple age groups, the layout includes different levels of movement, play, and interaction. The Golden Train was positioned and designed as a significant feature within the playground, not as a secondary object.

Design Concept

The design language is based on the hot air balloon theme, expressed through the main play structure and the overall appearance of the playground. Colorful polycarbonate elements add a bright and distinctive visual layer to the balloon concept.

Alongside the vertical, eye-catching balloon structure, the Golden Train introduces a lower, story-based play element with a retro character. The emphasis on the locomotive and the track helps create a memorable play setting while keeping the playground suitable for a public, multi-age environment.