Bejing, China
“We believe the missing link in the development of kids in a modern city is mainly experiencing the streets and spaces of a true neighborhood,” the architects explain.
“We wanted to create the experience of street games and limit the use of electronic devices.”
Led by Di Zhang and Jack Young and their design team at waa (we architech anonymous), a compound of old warehouses in the north section of Beijing, used in the 1970s to store grain, has been transformed into an immense playground with a retro-futurist flair, with elements that call to mind the colourful feats of Archigram.
Their Playscape, intended for kids between 2 and 4 years old, emphasises the character of industrial elements, like the large tubes connected by bridges and stairs as well as tunnels and slides, to propose street games.
The building complex is formed by a cluster of existing warehouses encircling a courtyard.
A public street disconnects the south building, which has been re-connected by waa using an aerial bridge to link the roof terraces.
New connectivity also provides a private route to an adjoining kindergarten, and an option to enter the adjacent public park.
Various internal spaces within the warehouse complex are dedicated to play.
Playspace 1, a single-level low pitched volume, is designed as a crawlspace with hanging fabrics, alongside a soft space topography for babies as well as a restaurant and library.
Playspace 2 is divided vertically into three levels, including a subterranean interactive environment, a steep climbing topography, and a suspended tensile net, all connected with slides.
Multifunctional classrooms are also found on the second and third levels.
Corners and fissures are the ideal terrain to play hide-and-seek, maze-like paths stimulate the sense of adventure while the abstract, lunar landscape on the roof awakens the imagination.
The courtyard is taken over by the striking playscape, a diverse and interactive topography of hide and seek, adventure, climbing and discovering.
Three main architectural interventions express the theme of play: the pipe, the roof and the mound.
The “pipe” forms are arranged as a series of connecting bridges and staircases.
The roof terraces present high points to look over the playscape and its possibilities.
The sloping floors are designed to improve balance, the ability to detect the risk level.
“Children are often passive in decision-making scenarios,’ explain the architects.
“Play is often the only thing under their own control. The design focus [for this project] was to address the missing elements of inner-city dwelling, distorting scales, manipulating movement sequences to build a tool for sensory learning.
Project: The Playscape
Architects: waa (we architech anonymous)
Design Team: Di Zhang, Jack Young, Minghui Huo, Yuqing Feng, Min Wang, Jing Zhu, Mengbo Cao, Hualin Yang, Weiya Li, Qiwen Cao, and Heff Jin
Structural Consultant: LAVA Structure
General Contractor: YJYZ Construction
Client: Beijing NuanQin
Photographers: Fangfang Tian
