When the City of Farmers Branch, Texas set out to build a new playground in Oran Good Park, their vision was clear: to build a one-of-a-kind space that would bring all members of their community together. Drawing inspiration from community surveys and conversations with local kids–or fun experts as their website calls them–the city delivered on their vision with the unveiling of Joya, translated as “Jewel” in Spanish. Since its opening in January, the park has lived up to the hype, serving as a vibrant hub of activity by day, and by night.
The 18,000-square-foot park boasts a wide variety of features for community members of all ages and abilities. At one end is a 27-foot sphere with six levels of climbing, slides, hammocks, and a dense mesh enclosure. The main section of the playground includes a zipline, obstacle courses, and a spin zone, and for kids aged 2-5, there is also a 7,000-square-foot tot lot with ramp structures, a turf field, a natural sensory play area, and a spin zone. The park is also equipped with handicap-accessible bathrooms, shaded structures, benches, and even a built-in sound system. But the most notable feature of the park is only visible at night: it glows in the dark.
Farmers branch partnered with Kompan, a playground manufacturer, and Teague Nall & Perkins, a civil engineering firm, to build the first-of-its-kind park. The construction process took less than a year with construction starting in June of 2023 and the park officially opening in January of 2024. The construction was funded through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act, a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant, and a city matching fund.
However, local funding is only part of the support that the playground has received. Throughout its construction, the playground garnered enthusiastic support from locals, receiving widespread engagement and coverage from local news outlets and community groups. This engagement can in part be attributed to the use of construction cameras and drones which helped to capture high-quality images and videos of the playground throughout the construction process.
Farmers Branch partnered with TrueLook to install construction cameras around the playground and used TrueLook’s drone services to capture bird’s eye footage of the playground so they could show it off from all angles. Farmers Branch turned to TrueLook because they needed a solution that could provide a variety of camera tools and services including high-quality footage, lifetime storage, time-lapse abilities, and security features to keep the site safe during construction. The additional use of drone missions to capture aerial footage enabled Farmers Branch to capture comprehensive footage of the project from inception to completion.
With access to quality images and videos, Farmers Branch was able to build hype for the playground by sharing regular construction updates via pictures and videos on social media and their website. They even were able to provide community members with a live link to watch the construction as it was taking place. And of course, the crown jewel of all the pictures and footage are pictures of the park glowing in the dark at night.
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