January 28, 2024
Once a year, designers submit creative fort designs to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The winning forts become part of the annual Fortlandia event in the garden. For several months, children play on them – climb, jump, crawl, lie down and run through them. I always visit to see the fun designs the creators come up with.
By the way, Fortlandia ends this Thursday, February 4th, so if you want to see the forts — and maybe play in them yourself — go soon.
Texas Wild Cards
My favorite fort this year was Texas Wild Cards by Jen Robichaux. Who didn’t have fun building a house of cards as a kid? Now you can play inside one!
Jen’s sturdy maps show the native flora and fauna of Texas.
Bluebonnets are the star, of course.
What a charming fort, and the kids seemed to enjoy it too.
According to Jen’s website, she also makes playing cards with this design.
Bloom Boxes
Bloom Boxes by Coxist Studio features pixelated multicolored wildflowers covering the countryside in spring. These brightly colored boxes have lots of crawl spaces and hiding places for kids to explore.
Bluebonnet Band
Bluebonnet Bend by Point B Design Group has meandering spaces for crawling and climbing and is painted a signature teal blue.
House of birds and words
The House of Birds and Words was built by Beata Longo of Bluebird Speech, a speech language pathologist.
The names of the birds in sign language and Braille are displayed on the outer walls.
Inside, the voices of birds are written on the walls.
It’s cute, though I wonder if any kids actually read it or if it’s mostly to entertain their parents.
Falls and ladders
Chutes and Ladders Designtrait Architects has colorful, abstract flowers and ramps to get inside. Slides offer quick “sticks” back to the ground.
Monkey Bar Fort
The colorful Monkey Bar Fort was created by Ria Bravo for old-fashioned climbing fun.
Wormholes
Sculptor Brent Baggett of Oculi Studio’s wormholes feature a trippy pattern and peek-a-boo windows. It “invites visitors to squirm and crawl through spiral passages as they imagine themselves in an underground world.” I like!
I somehow missed seeing Creature Feature by Rialto Studio and Wisteria by Shelley McDavid. But I’m sure they’re just as fun and have been played non-stop for another season of Fortlandia.
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