Sure, all the world’s a stage, but it’s also one giant playground. In the spirit of summer and all things fun under the sun, we thought we’d take a look at one of the greatest ways to conquer urban terrain by looking at the stunning architecture of the modern day skate park.
Born sometime in the late 1940s, skateboarding was the brainchild of SoCal surfers wanting something to surf when the waves were flat. Enter “Sidewalk Surfing” aka skateboarding. The downtime activity of soulful surfers and sappy street gangs has come a long way since the days of Thrashin’, the seminal 1986 American skater drama starring Josh Brolin and the earliest incarnation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. From a colorful outdoor “youth factory” to a hunting lodge that doubles as an indoor skatepark, click through to check out our roundup of skate parks that will blow your mind. Tell us in the comments which is your favorite, or nominate a park we’ve missed in the comments below!
Youth Factory – Lusitania, Spain
Image credit: Iwan Baan and Roland Halbe via Hooked
ZAP ADOS’ by Bang Architects – Calais, France
Image credit: Julien Lanoo via Dezeen
Skatepark Stuttgart by MBA/S Associates – Stuttgart, Germany
Image credit: Dezeen
Lions Park by Rural Studio – Greensboro, Alabama
Image credit: Rural Studio via archdaily
Skate Villa by Philipp Schuster – Salzburg, Austria
Image credit: SCOUTWELL; Broken Culture
PAS Skate House by Francois Perrin and Gil Lebon Delapointe – Paris, France
Image credit: Design Fun
True Skate Virtual Park by True Axis
Image credit: appadvice
Dennis “Polar Bear” Agnew Memorial Skatepark by Wormhoudt Inc. – Venice Beach, California
Image credit: Lost Angeles; Simon Scott
Emblematic Monument by Enrique Norten and TEN Arquitectos – Mexico
Image credit: Patrick Lopez via Dezeen
Museum of Ocean and Surf by Steven Holl with Solange Fabiao – Biarritz, France
Image credit: Studio 325