NITAPROW was given the task of creating a space for children to explore, learn, move and create at Playville in Bangkok, Thailand.

By conceiving multiple architectural terrains and topographical structures as the tool to encourage the little crawlers and toddlers to move in countless ways, maybe one of the most fundamental methods in helping them to fully explore their physical and cognitive abilities.

Nature’s geological diversity gave us an entertaining lead into pairing the 5 programmatic zones with their conceptually inspired counterpart.

The Entrance (The Fog & the Tree Tunnel)
Gradient film, wood covered floor, walls, lockers & archway come together to suggest a solid, warm, and enchanting entry.
Hardwood flooring shifts to low impact flooring as the little ones become more physically charged with excitement.

The Retail (The Cliff & the Boulders)
An interchangeable wall shelving system was placed along the main Terrazzo wall.
The pebble-like counters encourage a smooth circulation loop and a visual continuity between the central display cluster and the front display unit. A large mirror wall set up a seemingly generous display corner with the multicolor shelving display unit at the back corner of the store.

The Transition (The Hill & the Burrow)
A wooden raised platform created both an elevated terrain for climbing and sliding while forming an intimate hideaway beneath it. The elevated terrain is physically connected to the main play area at one end and visually connected to the covered outdoor area at the other.

The Covered Outdoor (The Dune & the Oasis)
Especially placed along the cooler east-facing facade, one can plunge into a sand pit, jump for joy at the grass-covered trampoline while observing the four-legged creatures roaming around the dog yard below.

The Main Play Area (The Island & the Lakes)
Pieces of custom foam block come together to form the topographically inspired balls pit. An emphasis was placed on creating continuous circulation loops around the playhouse and the island, filling up the little ones’ uncontrollable drive for repetition.

Multiple skylight planes were placed evenly throughout the main play area to resemble the illumination & the direction of sunlight from the sky above.
As most of the exterior walls face the strong southern and western sunlight, large glass facade together with a system of a floor-ceiling pixelated felt screen was chosen to maintain the visual connection between the interior and the exterior while reducing the solar heat gain and enhancing the acoustic performance of the playground.

By placing a square unit at the top and incrementally transforming into a circle through 21 variations, light aperture increases as the screen reaches the ground. These units were loosely threaded with a vertical sling allowing it to be receptive to physical touch, causing the screen to project throughout the day, incidentally complex light & shadow displays similar to those found in nature.

The images of the natural landscape and wild creatures were inconspicuously printed on each unit as part of the bigger picture. The scale and the subtlety of the entire screen challenge the viewers to take a step back, as the big picture would only become clearer with the right distance & perspective.

Architect: NITAPROW
Project Team : Nita Yuvaboon, Prow Puttorngul, Kuakunya Maneepairoj, Piyaporn Rattananukul, Chatchai Chaipara, and Pintusorn Chantranuwat
Contractor: Siammaithai Decor and Son
Photography: Ketsiree Wongwan