Lai Chi WOW!: Bamboo Children's Playground

The project team built the Lai Chi WOW! Playground with the theme of the “24 Solar Terms.” From 2 December 2022 to 17 January 2023, the playground attracted over 11,000 visitors. What is the design concept behind this?

The playground uses eco-friendly, traditional, and uniquely Hong Kong “bamboo scaffolding” presented in a new design. It allows children to run freely, climb, or lie down and relax, enjoying the blue sky and white clouds while playing and appreciating the rural natural scenery! After the event, the bamboo was given to local residents and community farmers for recycling: intact bamboo sticks can be used as fences for farmland, while shorter and older pieces can be used as fuel. Other materials from the playground, such as floor mats and pallets, were also given to various organisations in Lai Chi Wo for recycling use. These green designs are not only environmentally friendly but also highlight the importance of sustainable development.

Considering Lai Chi Wo’s history of rice cultivation, the bamboo pavilion playground is themed around the traditional Chinese “24 Solar Terms.” Using a square design, the playground is divided into four areas representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each with a colour representing a season. Mr. Lai Tat Wing illustrated the “4 Mascots of Lai Chi Wo” cartoon characters to introduce the corresponding solar terms for each season. Additionally, the team specifically chose semi-transparent fabrics as decorations, allowing children to see content related to the solar terms both inside and outside the playground. This helps them learn more about this tradition and realise the design concept behind the bamboo pavilion playground.