This project was designed for the UNICEF Inclusive Play Space Design Ideas Competition; the competition was established with the aim to find alternative ideas for a new playground in Tuen Mun district in the New Territories of Hong Kong. The concept of this project celebrates the three dimensionality of Hong Kong’s territory, reinterpreting the playground metaphorically as a new topography to discover and in the process creating organic spaces that fuse landscape and ground into one continuous experience. 

“Ground-Play” announces itself as a paradigm shift for playground design in HK and beyond. The playground is a place of fantasy, a place to escape, a fragment of the imaginary world that that has been left behind in our present ‘real’ world. Far too often playground designs forget this key ingredient of fun, producing generic conditions devoid of inspiration and enjoyment. “Ground-Play” inverts this sober state, focusing on designing a series of spaces where children as well as adults can dream and escape their daily stresses connected with living in a modern metropolis such as Hong Kong. 

The programmatic activities of the new park are structured according to a simple hierarchy of major and minor circles. Major circles (5 in number) punctuate the primary structural shell allowing both light to filter into the spaces below and at the same time define the public realm of the scheme. While the minor circles (8 in number), articulate the play areas with each circle housing a different activity ranging from physical activities to educational stations. 

Circles generate softness, they are simple shapes which children are naturally attracted to, be it: balls, balloons, bubbles or wheels, circles always stimulate fun and are inherently playful. The circle is also the departure point, the generating concept, for “Ground-Play” project.