Playscape: designing for children in Berea and Hillbrow

Abstract

A child’s world is one of imagination; of toys, play and stories. A child’s world is a world of its own with specific needs, which, if not met, will have long-lasting consequences into adult life. This is the unfortunate reality of children growing up in Hillbrow and Berea without opportunities for proper development and learning.

It is through play that a child develops and learns to cope with his environment. This project therefore takes as its subject matter the place of play for city children. It constructs an argument for the ‘playscape’ which encompasses both, the spaces in which children (and adults) are invited to play as well as the idea of landscape which, from the start has been central to child design. This thesis proposes a ‘toy library’ within a larger park of play. It is a design of a child’s world and a world of play, characterised architecturally by playfulness and functionally serving the children, teachers and parents of Berea and Hillbrow.