A built space imagined as a child’s dream; this play space, constructed out of mostly recycled materials, is an intervention by Hsc Designs to reimagine a kids’ play space. Tying with the school’s philosophy of Montessori learning, the design revolves around five sandpits, each teaching essential life skills, promoting independence, fostering curiosity, and building the spirit of adventure and risk-taking, through everyday life challenges and tools that are found around them. The facility includes a water zone, sand zone, climbing, swinging and sliding spaces as a reimagined play gym, all culminating into a tunnel space. The tunnel is designed from waste concrete pipes and decorated with mosaics, lending it a colourful appearance that appeals to children. The curves of the jungle gym are designed to study the anthropometry of children and provide various climbing surfaces that children can explore safely. By using thin MS sections for the curves, as opposed to the thick ones found in commercial jungle gyms, the design makes it easy for little children to hold them and play to their heart’s content. The colourful play spaces are designed in a communal collaboration with the kids from the school, where they have painted the trees and reused wooden logs from old trees. This exercise instils a sense of ownership and accomplishment in the minds of young learners, whilst also tying memories to the space.

The space is divided into five portions, each connected under the dappling shades of the trees, and above, the sound of birds chirping in their nests forges this connection with nature. The jungle gym, with its sinuous flow of Thin MS sections, makes it easy for kids to hold, hang on and climb on the structure. Each section of this gym is designed differently to inspire the kids’ imagination. The sandpit, with its green cones, serves as a water element for the sand. By doubling its role as a water shower and an echo chamber for the kids to whisper sweet nothings, this zone provides a sensory treat to children. One of the spaces becomes an outdoor classroom for the kids where they can sit under the shade of the trees on wooden stubs—reused from their old trees and painted in collaboration with the kids from the school. This interactive design will engage parents and educators, as it promotes learning through play. 

The entire playzone culminates into the central space, which is the most colourful space made from recycled concrete pipes and mosaic, giving it a reimagined tunnel-like appearance and thus channelling material sustainability. The sliding spaces and carefully carved openings inspire the kids to explore the cosy spaces as well as ignite their risk-taking ability. The permanent mist showers spraying onto the play space render relief from the Ahmedabad summer heat as well as being a fun element for kids to run around in. Moreover, by maximising sensory aspects, the windchimes become an auditory simulation for kids to associate with a fun time.

Being one of the oldest and most popular schools in the city, this school makes it important to inculcate the aspect of sustainability and reuse of material, thereby creating something that the children have never imagined before. Valanko ni Ramat testifies the potential of architecture to shape not just the physical spaces, but the minds and futures of those who inhabit them. It's more than just a playground—it's a home for imagination, a laboratory for learning and a place where children belong. Wandering amidst the colourful metallic structures, lush greenery, wondering at the sounds, textures, shapes, colours and elements, they're not just playing; they're discovering the boundless possibilities that lie within themselves and the world around them.