Assessing Systemic Integration in Sustainable Playground Design: A Documental Analysis of Undergraduate Design Projects

This study examines how physical, cognitive, social, and environmental dimensions are integrated within 22 playground design proposals developed by undergraduate students in a design engineering programme. Using a qualitative, document-based analysis approach grounded in Research through Design, we propose the Systemic Integration Index (SII). This replicable analytical framework not only evaluates the presence of key sustainability dimensions but also the relational articulation between them. Results show that while most projects (68%) achieved high SII values, a substantial proportion (32%) remained at a medium level of integration, indicating partial rather than fully coherent systemic articulation. The physical and social dimensions were the most consistently developed, whereas environmental integration showed the greatest variability and the weakest inter-dimensional connections across the dataset. The primary limitation lies not in identifying relevant design variables but in structuring their relationships into a coherent system. Findings are based on conceptual project documentation rather than on implemented designs and reflect the specific pedagogical context of the analyzed programme. The SII offers a structured and replicable tool for formative assessment in sustainability-oriented design education.