For the second year ­- of what I’m sure will be many – FBT participated in New Mexico Appleseed Parade of Playhouses benefitting disadvantaged children in New Mexico. This is a great organization for FBT to be involved in as it allows us to play with our craft while giving back to the community. It’s captured our hearts as well as our imaginations.

Playouse Design
FBT Architects partnered with McCarthy Construction to create one of 11 design/build teams in this years event. Teams drew their playhouse themes from a hat at the kickoff meeting, with FBT drawing “choose your own theme.” A Jungle theme was quickly decided upon by those present. (Apparently the idea of tasking everybody back in the office to choose a single playhouse idea from infinite possibilities seemed too daunting.)

Seven designers presented their own visions of the jungle playhouse with Rathi Casey’s concept direction winning via the ever-democratic post-it note vote. In the end, it’s always a team that brings these things together. At any rate, kids (or adult kids) can swing from the rope of the JungleHouse like a primate or barrel through the tunnel under the stairs, skip up to the top level to survey the world around them and shoot down the slide to start again!

The gala and auction at the Albuquerque Botanic Gardens netted $215,000, exceeding last years total of $176,000 by a healthy margin. Our JungleHouse sold for $13,000 to a private citizen who will be installing the playhouse in their backyard for some lucky kids!

Thank you to all our partners who made donations of material, time and personnel to bring the playhouse to life: McCarthy, Exerplay, Landscape Structures, Choice Steel, Sun Parts, Alstate Steel, JTC, Sunports, Bristol Steel, Albuquerque Reprographic and our very own FBT staff.

Thank you Jenny Ramo and New Mexico Appleseed for putting together another wonderful Parade of Playhouses event and doing the hard work for disadvanteged children in New Mexico.

Photos: mattophoto and various FBT staff.