Solar System play tower with three stainless steel slides

Solar System is an observation play tower in hot dip galvanised and powder coated steel, with three internal platforms, a central vertical shaft and three stainless steel slides. The theme runs across the whole structure: a sphere at the summit stands for the sun, steel cables trace the orbits and HPL panels carry the eight planets and the stars.

Inside the tower the three horizontal platforms sit at different heights around a central shaft of 1.5 m diameter, which is one of the two ways up. The second access is an outer pyramid segment entrance. Rope landings between the levels protect against falls inside the shaft. The three slides are stainless steel with reinforced starts to make the transition from platform to slide easier, and are fitted with skylights and star motifs.

Additional play is placed at ground level for the youngest children and for wheelchair users: transparent polycarbonate visual panels, a mirror finish dibond panel, an interactive game panel and a stork nest seat. The rope elements are braided and bonded polyamide of 18 mm diameter with galvanised steel reinforcement, and the connectors are aluminium, stainless steel and plastic.

Technical specification

Inclusive play at the base of the tower

The tower itself is climbing equipment, but the ground level panels and the stork nest seat give children who cannot use the shaft or the slides something to do at the same piece of equipment rather than at a separate one. That matters when a municipality has to demonstrate that the play area is usable by children with reduced mobility as well as by climbers.

Permanently installed playground equipment is covered by EN 1176 and the surfacing by EN 1177. A tower with three slide exits generates several free heights of fall, and the surfacing has to be tested to the highest of them. The tower height, the slide exit positions and the resulting impact areas are confirmed on the implantation drawing rather than assumed from the catalogue.

Frequently asked questions

How tall is the tower?

The height is confirmed in the implantation study for your project, because the tower is supplied in a configuration matched to the site and to the surfacing specification. Send a site plan with the quotation request.

Why stainless steel slides rather than plastic?

Stainless steel keeps its surface under ultraviolet exposure and resists vandalism and burning, which is why it is normally specified for unsupervised public play areas. The starts are reinforced at the point of highest wear.

Can wheelchair users reach the play panels?

The visual panels, the mirror panel, the interactive game panel and the stork nest seat are placed at ground level and are reachable when the surfacing around the tower is a firm, level material.