Play brings out curiosity, adventure, whimsy, movement and risk-taking – all things that are vital to our physical and mental health
– Steve Nygren

Georgia-based wellness community, Serenbe, is getting a new wellness community dedicated to play, co-founder Steve Nygren, has told CLAD.

Named Spela – which means play in Swedish – the new community will open in 2023 and become Serenbe's fifth hamlet.

With groundwork in the early stages, Nygren reveals that plans include a four-acre park designed with both kids and adults in mind. The park will sit on a steep hillside with townhomes and cottages forming an urban wall around a town square.

For Nygren, play and playfulness are crucial components of wellness and wellbeing:

“Play brings out curiosity, adventure, whimsy, movement and risk-taking,” he says.

“We all need each of these elements in our lives to stay vital and stimulate us mentally and physically at every age.

“The park was envisioned as a mix of the natural forest with organised pocket parks for meditation, gathering spots and play structures for all ages,” he explains, “it will serve as a gathering place with crisscrossing trails that will weave throughout.

“Using the varied topography continues to support Serenbe’s efforts to build with nature rather than imposing a plan on the natural landscape.”

Each hamlet within Serenbe’s masterplan has a different centre focused on the elements of a well life: arts for inspiration, agriculture for nourishment, health for wellbeing, education for awareness and now, play.

Serenbe’s earth-friendly community is home to more than 650 people and is underpinned by a strong connection to nature, with miles of trails connecting homes and restaurants with arts and businesses, an edible landscape and acres of preserved forests and meadows – all with homes specifically designed for community living.

Nygren said Spela is being conceived with the typical Serenbe customer in mind but will be differentiated by its emphasis on family and the inclusion of larger homes to accommodate families.

The community will be infused with wellness architecture and sustainable operating features, such as Earth Craft certification and geothermal and solar power energy.

The total list of architects and designers working with the Serenbe Design team architects to create Spela is yet to be finalised.

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FEATURE: Living the dream