When asked to design a playground in a kindergarten in Sarov, Russia, MERA makers design lab asked the children to imagine their lives on a deserted island. The result was a number of suggestions, activities and games that the designers gave shape to inside a compact wooden volume: Kid's Island. "If from the very childhood we are surrounded by such spaces, perhaps the well-being approach will become an axiom and a natural part of the life of society." tell the Designers.
A wooden island for children by MERA makers design lab
In a traditional nursery school in Sarov, Russia, MERA makers designs Kid's Island, a playground for children who are free to play creatively together.
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- Bianca Pichler
- 19 July 2021
- Sarov, Russia
- MERA makers design lab
- 12 sqm
- Playground
- 2021
The idea of an "Island" playground determined its structure as it can be approached on all sides, circumnavigated and walked through. The play area consists of eight independent plywood modules fixed together with some coloured plexiglas elements and mirrors. A complex but reliable design on the inside and smooth and essential on the outside.
Through the use of simple primary shapes and bright colours, Kid's Island offers play spaces at different speeds, from the fastest and most frenetic to the slowest and most meditative, from the slide to the ladder. Three levels of play teach children how to approach the world around them from different heights and perspectives: standing on tiptoes and peering through the window of a Tree House, lying down and crawling through a Tunnel to see what’s below, as well as looking down from the top of a Lighthouse.
The successful result is a playground that stimulates children's imagination, their cognitive development and body awareness in space.
- Kid's Island
- Playground
- MERA makers design lab
- 12 sqm
- Sarov, Russia
- 2021
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Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
Photo MERA makers design lab
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Photo MERA makers design lab
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