One of the design components for this summer’s Remote Studio was a tree fort. This is one of the coolest forts you can imagine. It is beautiful and fantastical. At the open house the children ran rampant, jumping and screeching as children do. The tree fort and the companion vessel were a hit.

What I have grown to value from these experiences is what impresses these young imaginations most. Not the dynamic architecture. But the simplest of experiences. The opportunity for them to engage with the physicality of the Earth and each other.

The tree fort has a simple pulley system with a bucket at the end of a rope. The children immediately gravitated to the bucket and pulley. Giggles and laughter , dirt and rocks, up and down it went the entire play time.

Joy and laughter for children is found in the abundance of the simplicity of life. We often forget this when considering the needs of children. And we forget this for ourselves. The feel of the rock in our hand before we toss it into the air or across the water, the smell of dirt after a rain. The joy of a full moon on a summer night. Joy and laughter plain and simple. Life.