open door design studio created ‘wooden jungle gym’ in a garden of a private residence in karachi, pakistan, as a place for kids to play, move and rest. the children of three families get together to play in this garden every afternoon, so the clients came to the architects wanting them to create a small play space for their kids inspired by the metal jungle gym the clients grew up playing in. the brief was to create a space which would allow the client’s grandchildren to climb, jump, explore and have fun, but in a material that was soft to touch and would weather well in karachi’s hot sun and salty sea breeze.

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
images courtesy of open door design studio

 

a little nook beneath the shade of a ficus tree, surrounded by a delightful array of plants became the site for the project. open door design studio designed a simple structure constructed using minimal materials to create an atmosphere of openness and play. they used a concrete pad for the foundation, hemlock wood and plyboards for the structure and floor levels, rope for a climbing wall and swing, sand for the base floor, and local khaddar fabric (hand-woven natural fiber cloth) for the soft furnishings.

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
the site

 

the architects designed the structure to incorporate multiple pretend play experiences, allowing for an exciting sensory exploration that would tap into the scope of the child’s imagination. they divided it primarily into three levels where the base is a soft sandpit with the first level being a child-size crawl space through the sand, emulating a tunnel. the levels above are a juxtaposition of a fortress, monkey bars, a climbing grid wall reminiscent of traditional jungle gyms, and a balcony treehouse at the top level. one of the walls is a net made of rope, allowing for different ways of climbing up and down. the last element for play is a small wooden swing hung with white rope at the entrance. children can enjoy the different elements through numerous routes and spatial experiences.

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
the fortress

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
the treehouse

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
the curved wooden wall enfolds the fortress while guiding the child along the monkey bars on the outside

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
play structure one

open door design studio nestles wooden experience for kids in a private garden in pakistan
play structure two

wooden kids retreat is a shared learning place for 3 families in karachi, pakistan
nestled amongst trees

wooden kids retreat is a shared learning place for 3 families in karachi, pakistan
the climbing walls

wooden kids retreat is a shared learning place for 3 families in karachi, pakistan
plan at mid level

wooden kids retreat is a shared learning place for 3 families in karachi, pakistan
final site plan

wooden kids retreat is a shared learning place for 3 families in karachi, pakistan

elevation

 

 

project info:

 

name: the wooden jungle gym

designer: shehrebanu nooruddin, maha jazim ali or open door design studio

location: karachi, pakistan

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom