Interlace

Project Description

To play is to learn from mimicking each other. In few cases, this also applies to designing play. While most playgrounds are a contrast to their surroundings – in colour, shape and activity – the new Interlace playground is the mini-version of the surrounding residences. The Interlace is a new residential typology designed by OMA, which breaks with the standard isolated, vertical apartment towers of Singapore. Thirty-one apartment blocks, each six storeys tall and identical in length, are stacked in a hexagonal arrangement to form eight large open and permeable courtyards. Light and air flow through the architecture and surrounding landscape.

In one of the courtyards, Carve recently built ‘Interlace’, a playground that seamlessly fits in its surroundings. Four large containers are stacked on top of each other, each one rotated just like the residential backdrop. Inside the containers, various crawling, climbing and sliding elements create a maze-like structure with a variety of adventurous routes. The ‘closed’ facade gives children the thrill of being invisible, while the perforations actually ensure looks both inside and outside. Additionally, the perforated facades allow for shading and a continuous wind breeze, creating a cool climate inside the boxes whilst additionally stretching the borders of the conception of inside-outside.