#Kidtecture Curves of Wonder: Hsc Designs’ nature-inspired design at Shreyas Foundation School

In celebration of Children’s Day, we continue our exploration of thoughtful, engaging spaces crafted for young minds. For our seventh feature, we turn to the vibrant city of Ahmedabad, home to the Shreyas Foundation School Play Area—an imaginative 5,000-square-foot playground lovingly called Valanko ni Ramat, or “a play of curves.” Designed by Hsc Designs and led by visionary client Abhay Mangaldas, this play area embodies a nature-inspired philosophy that encourages creativity, curiosity, and community. Merging environmental consciousness with playful design, it offers a unique experience where safety, sustainability, and sensory exploration come together.

Project Spotlight: The Shreyas Foundation School Play Area

Ahmedabad, a visual treat for the most eclectic buildings in the country, diversifies into hosting a 5,000 sq ft oasis of creativity and learning – the Shreyas Foundation School Play Area, the playground of which is affectionately known as ‘Valanko ni Ramat’ meaning ‘a play of curves’ and it indeed lives up to its name. This ground is not just a typical recreational space; it’s a culmination of design, innovation, and sustainability, crafted by Hsc Designs and envisioned by the client Abhay Mangaldas, to inspire and educate the young minds that roam its vibrant landscape. This playground is an ode to the institution’s commitment to holistic education and Hsc’s to the varying facets of design.

Key Design Principles:

1. Nature-Inspired Design: The play space is heavily inspired by nature, integrating elements like trees, sand, and water to create a stimulating and immersive environment.
2. Child-Centric Design: The design prioritises the needs and interests of children, considering their physical and cognitive development.
3. Sensory Engagement: The space incorporates various sensory experiences, including visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli.
4. Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness: The use of recycled materials and sustainable practices promotes environmental awareness and responsibility.
5. Social Interaction and Community Building: The design encourages social interaction and collaboration among children.

Key Challenges Faced:

1. Safety and Accessibility: Ensuring the safety of children while providing opportunities for risk-taking and exploration was a significant challenge.
2. Material Selection and Durability: Selecting appropriate materials that were both durable and safe for children, especially considering the harsh climate conditions.
3. Budget Constraints: Balancing the desired design vision with budgetary limitations.
4. Community Engagement and Collaboration: Involving the community, particularly the children, in the design process to ensure their needs and preferences were met.
5. Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to local building codes and safety standards while maintaining the design’s integrity.

What are the top 3-5 things they keep in mind while designing for children?

When designing for children, safety is paramount. The design should be centered around the child’s developmental needs, stimulating their senses through various elements. Spaces should spark imagination and creativity, encouraging exploration and learning. Lastly, inclusivity is key, ensuring the design is accessible to all children, regardless of their abilities.

Creativity & Fun:

Children spaces need to be spaces that exude new ideas, playful themes and exploratory as kids imagination has no boundaries and they need spaces that can match that. Alongwith being colourful the spaces also need to be larger than life and things that they have never seen before. But the most important part of this would be that the spaces must be safe for kids to be their most carefree self on.

Evolving Needs:

In new kids space you would see a lot of technological interventions which make the spaces more interactive and playful like led screens, projections etc but also people are moving to make the spaces with more natural materials, recycled materials as there is a sense of responsibility that the children playing in these spaces get inculcated with early on.

Sustainability:

Like our project “Valanko ni Ramat” designing spaces for children can be done without using a lot of plastic or materials which end up creating a lot of waste. We have used mostly recycled material and local materials to create colourful, freshly designed, and curious play spaces for children which can change their perception of how play spaces can be approached all the while being super safe for kids. This creates a space that the kids have never seen before and makes the use of materials which would not be used in spaces like this.

Fact file:

Location: Shreyas Foundation, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Area: 5000 sq ft

Completion: 2024

Client: Abhay Mangaldas

Materials used: Concrete, Ms Pipes