Playrooms, playrooms, playparks are all spaces where children love to play and spend hours with their peers. Parents are frightened by such places, and while their kids are rolling around in a pool of balls, they stand somewhere off to the side crowded into groups and talking, or at least trying to, because it's not easy to shout out the children's noise that invariably accompanies the scrambles.
Architects from the bro.Kat studio in the design of the Gili gili playroom in Katowice decided to take care of the parents' needs as well. Thus, in one part of the room there are several rooms for the use of children desiring entertainment, and in the other part there is a cafe where they can talk in peace.
The design of the playroom was to fulfill three basic functions: it was to be a play space inspired by Maria Montessori's pedagogical principles, a space where birthdays can be held, and a café for parents. The principles of the Montessori method of education are very clearly delineated, hence the architects had a predetermined color palette, materials, type of educational aids, etc.
Children have the opportunity to enter the world of senses and go through a maze of foam doodles and run through colorful ribbons. Without fear, they can hug a real tree trunk and smell the forest scents hidden in birdhouses
Photo: Radoslaw Kazmierczak
children's kingdom
Finally, the space for children was separated into two zones. The first is a sensory space. It is here that children have the opportunity to enter the world of the senses and go through a maze of foam doodles and run through colorful ribbons. They can fearlessly hug a real tree trunk and smell the forest scents hidden in the birdhouses. There are also sensory panels placed against a huge wall - the owners of the playroom have the option of adding new educational segments. A favorite of the architects in this section are the giant gray soft stones they designed to build more than one grotto or "base".
The second zone is the so-called "play house. The designers created a real house and its interior to fit a child's size. It has windows, doors, a kitchen, and even a washing machine and a fireplace! Children can easily act out scenes from real life here - cooking, ironing, cleaning.
Astronauts or visitors from another planet also came to visit the residents - a plywood rocket "landed"in the garden, which you can visit
Photo: Radoslaw Kazmierczak
At the house there is also a garden with artificial grass and a workshop with tools. Astronauts or visitors from another planet have also come to visit the residents - a plywood rocket has "landed" in the garden, which you can visit. This element was created for hypersensitive children who need to calm down and separate themselves from their surroundings. A separate room is a workshop area, which occasionally also serves as a birthday room.
with parents in mind
With parents in mind, a cafeteria was created where parents can spend time in peace. This also presented one of the design challenges - the two parts: for children and adults could not be completely separate from each other. The designers opted for various shades of pink, in which they sunk elegant accessories - silver lamps or an upholstered headrest.
With parents in mind, a cafe was created where parents can spend time in peace
photo by Radoslaw Kazmierczak
In juxtaposition with the existing raw interior, such as the concrete ceiling, floor and steel black structural elements, the architects managed to create an interior that gives the opportunity to relax and unwind.
The designers also separated a social room, a cleaning closet and, despite the small area, a room for a parent with a child, where it is possible to change the child into more casual play clothes or feed or change him.
