Playing in the streets

We don’t think about our balance until we lose it.

The play­scape is a refur­bish­ment inside an exis­ting indus­trial complex in the north of Beijing. A 1970’s warehouse complex for grain storage supported by a trans­port faci­lity.

Our client was a health­care provider specia­li­zing in obser­ving, and supporting children’s deve­lo­p­ment rela­ting to move­ment for a broad range of age groups. 

Playing on the street is set to become the alternative to gaming on electronic devices.

We believe the missing element of a child’s deve­lo­p­ment in a modern Chinese city is chiefly a func­tio­ning neigh­bor­hood. We hoped to create the expe­ri­ence of street play and prio­ri­tize the reduc­tion for gizmos and screen time. Drawing inspi­ra­tion from popular culture of the past and abstrac­ting important iden­ti­ties for our new neighborhood’s character. The play­scape embo­died the follo­wing traits:

1. Hide and seek (Group inter­ac­tion): Free-will is vital to engage a child’s imagi­na­tion and promo­ting this inter­ac­tion within a group.
2. Adven­ture play­ground (Risk): Balance is invi­sible until we lose it, children decide what level of risk they feel comfor­table to expe­ri­ence.
3. Nook and Cranny (Body Propor­tion): Spaces are desi­gned for children with nooks to explore and under­stand ergo­no­mics.

There are three design and architectural interventions in particular that make Playscape unique: the pipes, the roof and the mounds.

Three main archi­tec­tural inter­ven­tions embedded the themes of play from the concept;

1. Pipe: Focuses on smaller Nook’s to test proprio­cep­tion (body aware­ness). These arma­tures are arranged as a series of connec­ting bridges and stair­cases. Five diameter scales can be observed; 2.3m (Walk­ways) 1.7m (Stair­cases) 1.3m (Safety Balus­trade) 0.8m (Slides) 0.4m (External Lighting).

2. Roof: Pres­ents a high point to over­view the stage set and its possi­bi­li­ties and poses a choice to children to embrace unor­thodox routes. A full loop can be made and children can travel from the terrace and tran­s­cend under the mound through slides which vary in height from 7m to 4.3m. The network impresses upon them alter­na­tive direc­tions to goals, some­times the second shor­test route is more fun.

3. Mound: Enhances deve­lo­p­ment in senses rela­ting to equi­li­brium (Balance) and freedom of decision making. The mounds allow children to explore and decide on their comfort in regards to risk and by tran­s­cen­ding a variety of inclines at speed. Addi­tional area of covered play was created by harnes­sing area under the topo­graphy. Access to which can be gained through a number of cuts or slides from the terrace level.

A wrap-around rooftop terrace facilitates child observation and offers parent-specific amenities such as a terrace bar.

The buil­ding complex is formed by a cluster of exis­ting warehouses encir­cling a cour­tyard. A public street discon­nects the south buil­ding which is re-connected by the use of an aerial bridge to link the roof terraces. Access also provides a private route to an adjoi­ning Kinder­garten, and an option to enter the adja­cent public park.

The exis­ting cluster provides for 3 internal play spaces. Play­space 1 is a single level low pitched 6m volume. Used for 2–4 year olds as a crawl­space with hanging fabrics. Features also include a soft space topo­graphy for babies supple­mented with a restau­rant and library.

Play­space 2 is divided verti­cally into three levels. A tiered envi­ron­ment for ages over 4 inclu­ding a subter­ra­nean inter­ac­tive envi­ron­ment, a steep clim­bing topo­graphy, with a suspended tensile Net all connected with slides. Addi­tional directed lear­ning can be found on level 2 and 3 with a total of 6 Multi­func­tional Classroom’s. A single slide connects verti­cally 7m from the class­room to level 1. The South Buil­ding competes the cour­tyard adja­cent to the road with views into a public park.

The architects make a point of distorting scales and manipulating movement processes.

Children are often passive in decision making scena­rios. Play is often the only period under their own control. The Design Focus was to address the missing elements of inner city dwel­ling, distorting scales, mani­pu­la­ting move­ment sequences to build a tool for sensory lear­ning. Where the icono­graphy of the project becomes about the acti­vity and embra­cing a degree of risk we hope to nudge children to imagine and feel what they see as the limits to their own adven­ture.

“In Play you don’t foresee an end product. It allows you to suspend judgment. Often the solu­tion to one problem sparks a possi­bi­lity for another set of problems… In the actual buil­ding of some­thing you see connec­tions you could not possibly have fore­seen on that scale, unless you were physi­cally there” Richard Serra