Frame

In Haarlem, a Dutch city close to Amsterdam known to attract young families (including mine), there is no shortage of playgrounds. But the playground is a typology under threat, especially in dense urban areas. Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reports that, in city planning, purpose-built play spaces often lose out to parking spaces tied to new developments, even though they are crucial for social cohesion and wellbeing. Beyond playgrounds, child development specialists argue that the concept of free play itself is endangered, too. Some have even suggested that it should be recognized and protected as part of our cultural heritage. As we learned while creating this issue – which celebrates creativity, ingenuity and joy in design – opportunities for play can, however, be integrated into the urban fabric and extend beyond…

In the work of McCloy + Muchemwa, playfulness isn’t accidental. It’s a deliberate choice – and a tool – to fuel innovation and experimentation, creating meaningful and dynamic spaces within the public (urban) context. Playfulness has been a common thread not only in the portfolio of the London-based studio, but also in the upbringing and education of its founders, Steve McCloy and Bongani Muchemwa. McCloy was born in Nairobi, Kenya, after his grandparents moved there from Great Britain. His childhood playground consisted of antique farm machinery, clapped-out vintage cars, half-built wooden boats, campsites, and forests and streams in the surrounding area. Muchemwa, on the other hand, was raised in Zimbabwe by liberal parents who encouraged exploration, then moved to Europe at the age of 14. This gave him the ability…

It was a David Attenborough-esque observation of her four-year-old twins interacting with badly designed toys and costumes that prompted Sigríður Sunna Reynisdóttir to enter the world of play-focused design. Even though children have exceptional tactile senses from an early age, they are often offered only the cheapest synthetic materials, with no textures to explore, she observed. In an effort to change that, Reynisdóttir started with a collection of children’s costumes for free play in 2019. And while running her studio in scenography design and puppetry from a co-working space, she met and joined forces with architect Erla Ólafsdóttir, children’s culture designer Ninna Þórarinsdóttir and fashion designer Sigurbjörg Stefánsdóttir to start Þykjó, which the group describes as ‘an interdisciplinary design project for children and their families in the fields of textile,…

Many children play with their food, while adults tend to distance themselves from it through cutlery and etiquette. So, how could design help bring back elements of that explorative and experimental interaction with food that we lose as we grow up? If you ask Brussels-based chef and hospitality entrepreneur Paul-Antoine Bertin, who cofounded the creative collective Studiø 27 with Nathan Gullentops in 2023, the answer lies in serving up multidimensional experiences. In practice, this means that the studio, which is best known for its curation of design-led and customized culinary events, integrates forms of sensory play – touch, smell, sound and sight – into its culinary experiences, going beyond taste alone. ‘The goal is to surprise and engage guests at every level so that the experience feels rich and immersive,’…

‘People are craving joy, optimism and a sense of connection in their spaces – something that reminds us of the beauty in life and sparks curiosity,’ says Daniel Valero, founder of Mexican studio Mestiz. To him, playful design is a tonic for the stresses of modern life and a welcome respite from the weight of recent years. Through colour, form and materiality, design should surprise and restore, prompting us to step outside of ourselves and truly engage with our surroundings. A self-proclaimed ‘vibrant and disruptive’ creative force, Mestiz is deeply embedded within Mexico’s cultural fabric. The ethos of the studio, which is nestled in Pasaje Allende, the oldest shopping street in San Miguel de Allende, is shaped by the artisanal traditions that surround it. But Mestiz is not about replication…

Where do you think the need for playfulness and joyfulness in spatial design is coming from? YOHEI TERUI: I feel there’s a strong demand for a bright and optimistic utopian vision in design these days, regardless of the type of space. I see this as a counter-response to the global upheavals of recent years and the lingering uncertainty about the future. More and more, I notice a growing emphasis on stress-free spatial design – using natural materials, simplifying spaces and focusing on singular elements. This reflects a desire for healing and a return to nature. However, sometimes that alone isn’t enough, which is why we also see a trend toward using colour and form to bring playfulness and joy into spaces. At the same time, our designs are sometimes described…