Industry
Parks & Recreation
Key Collaborators
Manufacturer: Kinsol Play Landscape, Architect: Bench Site Design, Owner: City of Kelowna
The Concept
Burne Park called for a centrepiece that could anchor a new community gathering area along Kelowna’s Mill Creek Linear Park corridor. Real Life designed a multi-storey climbing tower inspired by the structure of a tree, rising from an open trunk to a bird nest lookout platform at the top. The concept asked a simple question: what if a play structure felt less like equipment and more like something you discovered?
The Challenge

The tower needed to deliver a rich play experience across multiple levels, for a range of ages and abilities, without becoming repetitive. Every transition between floors had to offer something different – a rope ladder, climbing handholds, a hammock floor – while the overall structure held together as a single coherent idea. Real Life worked within Kinsol Play’s manufacturing standards throughout, translating an ambitious concept into something buildable.

The Solution

Real Life developed multiple design iterations before landing on a final tower that balanced visual impact with genuine play. Netting sides with wood nest cladding give the structure its character from a distance, while the interior rewards exploration at every level. Alongside the tower, Real Life designed an accessible play structure built into a sculpted berm – an unusual solution that integrated components from two separate manufacturers into one seamless piece of equipment, something rarely done in the industry.

Kids claimed it on opening day and they haven’t stopped showing up since.

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Key Aspects
1

Designed around a tree and bird nest concept

2

Multiple climbing experiences across a single structure

3

Combining components from two manufacturers into one piece of equipment