the Neighborhood Design Center

Schoolyards and Learning Environments

Engagement and Facilitation

Mt. Royal School Playground Design

Mt. Royal Existing Playground showing a medium-sized metal playground on patch of astroturf surrounded by concrete surfaces.

About the project

Mount Royal Elementary/Middle School is a Pre-K-8 school in the Bolton Hill neighborhood, directly next to the Maryland Institute for the Arts (MICA) campus. The school is unique due to its status as an Arts Integration School and as the host of the Ingenuity Project, an advanced STEP academic program.

In 2025, the Neighborhood Design Center collaborated with the Friends of Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School, PTO, and school leadership to redesign and revitalize the school’s playground to better serve students, families, and the surrounding community.

The existing playground is outdated and underutilized, and parents, staff, and neighbors expressed a strong desire for a more inclusive, engaging, and accessible space.

Through researching previous plans, working with volunteer planners, architects, and engineer consultants, and creating a collaborative engagement process, NDC gathered input to shape a shared vision for the site.

This project was fueled by volunteers Sabrina Richter, Margaret Kaii-Ziegler, and Marlowe Simek, led by NDC staff Maura Dwyer. Concrete step alternative analysis and budget estimates were generously provided by NDC volunteer and engineer, Rachel Inzer, of Alpha Corporation.


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Mt. Royal Existing play space showing austere concrete amphitheater and dirt patch.

Challenges

    • Majority of play area is asphalt or concrete

    • Concrete steps surround play equipment & cause injuries

    • Very little shade in central play area

    • Lack of diversity of play options for different ages & abilities

    • Outdated signage and lack of public art

Opportunities

    • Newly planted trees provide shade for future play areas

    • Convert steps to gentle slope or tiered seating

    • Install shade sails for short-term shade, plant more trees on far end of playground for longer-term shade

    • Create play zones for younger and older students

    • Install updated signage and artwork in highly visible areas that reflect school culture

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Mt Royal Playground community engagement materials, including sticky notes on poster boards showing ideas and concepts.
Mt Royal Playground community engagement materials, including sticky notes on poster boards showing ideas and concepts.

Key responses from survey

    • “Safety is most important - kids need somewhere to play without constantly getting hurt! As the school nurse, I regularly see students come in with head injuries and scrapes from falls on hard and uneven ground.”

    • “We need real shade. The heat is brutal! Kids can’t enjoy recess when the blacktop feels like 95 degrees, it’s why after-school care doesn’t go outside - the slides are unusable.”

    • “Younger and older kids need their own space to play and run - it can get chaotic and dangerous, younger students need safe places to play just for them.”

    • “My third grader loves sports, but at drop off, I see the kids on top of each other - the kids need more space to run around.”

    • “Murals and art would be a wonderful addition and show off our creative community - building off the bridge colors and school’s arts program.”

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Play area concept by Davin Hong, 2018.
Play area concept by Davin Hong, 2018.

Building off what came before

Our 2025 concepts benefited from previous ideas developed over the years.

Inspiring Precedent Images

We showed community members examples of parks and playgrounds in and out of Baltimore to spark their imagination.

Our final plan organizes the site into distinct, color-coded zones and prioritizes the integration of softer surfaces, nature-based elements, shade, seating, age-appropriate play areas, new play equipment, and flexible open space.

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Mt. Royal Elementary Middle Playground Rendering: aerial view.

Plan highlights

Younger Student Play Zone

    • Convert mulched seating area into an enclosed PreK-K imaginative play zone

    • Keep the existing healthy trees for shade

    • Add new play structures that support early learning and creative play, like play houses, mud kitchens, sandbox, etc.

Younger elementary play zone

    • Transform amphitheater area into a new space, create border for softer surfaces like mulch, retain drainage system/inlet, integrate natural elements for drainage

    • Turn steps into artificial turf slope

    • Add 2 - 3 new play structures for younger students

    • Retain some open space for ball play

    • Update stage area with murals, signage, chalkboards or wall games

Existing central playground area

    • Add shade sails in primary colors to coordinate with bridge mural (blues/yellows/reds)

    • Continue to repair and reinforce soft rubber surface with BCPS

    • Consider adding native garden beds around the rubber platform surface to block steps and create a boundary

    • Install new ADA ramp with railings

New Shaded Seating and Nature Play Areas

    • Add native plantings, nature play, shaded seating

    • Install small pavilion with additional tables (or use umbrellas for shorter term)

    • Add 1 more piece of play equipment that complements existing central playzone, like a new swing or spin play structure

    • Take advantage of dirt surface to add planting beds, boulders, & logs

Shaded area for rest and socializing

    • Add 1 - 2 clusters of tables with umbrellas

    • Replace asphalt with turf field, mulch areas, & pathways

    • Incorporate open-ended, nature-inspired seating and climbing structures

    • If space, add 1 more play option so kids can spread out


Open Turf Sports Field

    • Turn the existing asphalt lot into an extended multi-sport turf field that’s durable and low-maintenance

    • Install a low wall and high net to ensure safety

    • Replant perimeter of trees along McMechen for eventual shade on the field

    • Consider keeping a portion of steps for spectator seating

    • Narrow drive lanes, connect the two sides of the parking lots, and streamline circulation to increase recreation & play field area

    • Move the two reserved handicap parking spots from the back lot near McMechen to the Mosher lot closer to accessible walking path

Feedback on these final designs were very positive.

Respondents commented on how the playground design felt like a shared community space rather than only a playground, with additional seating, gathering spaces, and a friendly and colorful feeling. NDC’s research and conceptual designs will guide future design and construction efforts.

Mt. Royal Existing Playground showing a medium-sized metal playground on patch of astroturf surrounded by concrete surfaces.

Last Updated June 2026

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