Landscape-Driven Design: Creating a Cohesive Park Palette

Parks are made whole through more than just equipment choices. The best outdoor spaces are intentionally designed landscapes, assembled with care and consideration. Landscape-driven design is an approach that starts with evaluating the site context, exploring materials, and defining spatial relationships. By doing so, you can then create a cohesive park palette and shape a space that naturally unifies play, amenities, and other structures. We’ll define these key terms for you so that when it comes time to design, you feel well-prepared. Let’s dive in to understanding what landscape-driven design really is, how to establish a cohesive park palette, and ways our team can help.

What Is Landscape-Driven Park Design

Landscape-driven design, in a public park context, is a design process that prioritizes the existing surrounding environment as a part of the broader design. This approach is harmonious in that it allows nature to flourish alongside park and playground equipment, creating an environment that is regenerative, resilient, and multi-functional. What already exists in the environment greatly informs design decisions. Let’s define site context and spatial relationships, the foundation for landscape-driven design:

• Site context: The physical context that comprises the tangible elements of the site and its surroundings, including...

  • Topography: Slope, elevation changes, and existing natural features. These will inform decisions about equipment placement and accessibility.

  • Climate: Sun orientation, wind patterns, rainfall, and temperature variations. These elements impact material selection and overall comfort. 

  • Vegetation: Existing trees, vegetation, and potential for landscaping. These elements inform how we will integrate the equipment with nature, shading strategies, and potential ecological concerns.

  • Surrounding built environment: The scale, style, and density of neighboring buildings. These inform decisions about compatibility, setbacks, and opportunities for creating a cohesive environment. 

  • Infrastructure: The location of utilities, transportation networks, and easements. These will dictate potential limitations during construction.

• Spatial relationships: The relationship between equipment and its site, or how the equipment belongs to its surroundings. A well-designed site-equipment relationship respects terrain, climate, and vegetation, creating a destination that melds with the site context rather than opposing it. 

To wrap it up, landscape-driven park design promises long-term cohesion rather than isolated feature selection.

Learn more: What Do Playground Architects Do and Why They Are Important to Have

Establishing a Cohesive Park & Playground Palette

Once you’ve identified your site context and have an idea about the spatial relationships you’d like to achieve, equipment selection can begin. Your park palette will be made up of the materials, finishes, colors, forms, and textures that you choose. Ideally, these elements will be informed by your site context to create a cohesive, functional aesthetic identity for your public space. There are several ways to successfully achieve this and, of course, plenty of room for creative thinking! We recommend working with an experienced designer to help create your park palette. That being said, we do have a few suggestions:

• Layer textures to create depth

• Use color to identify an area’s purpose (i.e., calm greens for quiet space and vibrant colors for play areas)

• Find a balance of limiting and repeating materials to create visual consistency

• Use native, drought-tolerant plants 

If you’re including a playground in your park, it should also fit into the broader landscape cohesively. Safety surfacing and equipment can echo the surroundings through material and color choices. When installing a playground, spatial relationships are extremely important. In order for a playground to be safe, inclusive, and comfortable, consider:

• Sight lines: Unobstructed, direct lines of vision that allow parents and caregivers to monitor children at play

• Circulation: The layout and flow of human traffic through play areas. Effective circulation ensures all areas are accessible and safe.

• Gathering areas: A designated space for children and families to congregate and rest, often in the middle of a park or play area

If all of this feels overwhelming, we understand! It’s a lot to take in at once, which is why we always recommend working with a park professional to help guide you through it. 

Learn more: 2026 Park + Playground Planning Checklist 

Site Amenities as Design Anchors

Site amenities can make a huge difference and play an important role in park design. Beyond serving a functional purpose, amenities contribute to the visual language of the park by helping guide people across defined zones. Park zones are strategic, functional areas, each purposefully designed for a specific activity. Some examples include:

• Active zone: Playgrounds, fitness areas, and sports courts

• Passive zone: Greenways, lawns, picnic spots, and relaxation areas

• Nature zone: Plantings and wildlife habitats

• Flexible gathering zone: Plazas and open spaces for events and socialization 

Benches, tables, bike racks, shade, and waste receptacles are all essential amenities that require thoughtful placement. Within certain zones, certain amenities are appropriate. You can also reinforce cohesion in zones by using consistent finishes and forms, further defining what zone is what. Try to prioritize amenity selection early in the process rather than adding them during the later stages. They can inform so much about your overall design!

Learn more: Site Furnishings, Amenities, Park Benches, Picnic Tables, Bike Racks & More

Custom Elements and Architectural Features

Often, off-the-shelf solutions don’t quite cut it. Thankfully, the sky is the limit with customization options. At MRC Recreation, we work with different manufacturers, designers, and professionals to ensure that we have a multitude of options when it comes to custom work. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Custom railings: Including custom metal embellishments and logos

• Shade structures: Create forms for unique landscapes and scenarios

• Signage: Inclusive and functional to flow by defining zones

• Benches & seating: Essential for comfort and community satisfaction 

• Artwork: Add bold creative architectural elements

• Custom play: Create unbelievable modern playgrounds

Customization can be used as a tool to achieve the goal of landscape-driven design: Naturally unifying play, amenities, and other structures and surroundings. That’s the best part about working with a park designer; They can work with you to create a cohesive story across each of these potential elements. By taking advantage of what customization has to offer, you can bridge landscape, architecture, and park use seamlessly. 

Learn more: StudioMRC

Collaboration and Specification Support: Designing Parks That Feel Intentional

To make your process as easy as possible, we want to highlight the importance of collaboration as early as possible. Align landscape architects, manufacturers, and fabricators to best understand how your project will go from start to finish. At MRC Recreation, we’re proud to do the hard part of this for you by identifying manufacturers and lead times, as well as collaborating on design. With 50 years of experience, we recommend that you decide to work with a partner that understands both the design and construction parts of the process. The most successful projects happen when all the processes are coordinated. 

To close out, we want to reiterate that cohesive parks are the result of landscape-driven thinking, not product-driven decisions. A strong park palette enhances user experience, longevity, and community identity. Connect with our design team for spec support and help ensure your next park project delivers a cohesive, landscape-driven vision from concept through construction.