wildlife at everyone's reach
Forget what you know about traditional zoos and animal life in there: Mandai Wildlife Reserve brings in an innovative approach to wildlife, where nature preservation, sustainable initiatives and conservation of endangered species are some of the main pillars of the park to ensure a conscious experience of the animal world. The park aims to educate visitors on current threats to species, particularly the climate change threat and to promote nurtured and healthy ecosystems.
a unique bird park
One core zone of Mandai Wildlife Reserve is the 'Bird Park', which is renowned for its splendid collection of special bird species from all over the world. Both indoor and outdoor aviaries display a world-class colourful collection of distinguished birds from different habitats. The exhibition together with the educational programs aims to impress both children and adults, to create an emotional engagement and a sensitivity for our environment with all living species.
In 2018, Carve won the competition process for the design of two playgrounds in the Bird Park. In line with the theme of the park, we got inspired by the special features that characterize different bird species, such as their nesting skills, enhanced senses and colourful eggs. In close coordination with the Mandai team, Carve has worked on a Dry Play Area, renamed Treetop Play, and a Wet Play Area, now called Egg Splash.
play like a bird
We wanted to create a very special and immersive experience at Mandai Bird Park. And what better way to do it than having children play the part of birds? Balancing like flamingos, flying like eagles, hanging upside down like owls; kids are invited to live a day in a life of a bird, exploring its habits and learning all about this animal group. Playing in the water or up in the air, children alongside with parents and caretakes are welcome to explore the marvellous world of birds; a place for surprise and enchantment, to get wild, challenged, to laugh and make memories. A place to connect people to nature through play. The wet play area is everything but an ordinary water park. You won't find traditional water slides or standard waterplay equipment. We envisioned this play space as a unique world to discover, a world made of human-scale eggs of various colours and sizes, where children are invited to play like birds in the water.
bird island
With its three distinctive characters, a big island lies at the center of the playground
and large playful eggs are scattered on its surface. Younger children can enjoy
small waterjets sprinkling from the small eggs or have a quick slide closeby into the
shallow waters. Kids who dare to challenge themself can climb all the way to the
top of two giant eggs and have fun sliding together into the pools below: an
experience that can be shared with friends and family to create memorable
moments. If looking for something unusual, a misty egg-scape is just a few steps away:
children can play hide and seek camouflaged by the misty clouds.
rivulets paradise
Nearby the toddler area, a maze of rivulets meanders through pebble-like eggs,
creating a tranquil setting for the complete family to enjoy. The water can be
dammed and the flow direction adjusted manually to create a constantly changing
water scenario and promote interactive play among the kids. They can bath into the
concave eggs just as birds would do in a river or play with the arched waterjets that
sprinkle from the concrete egde.
a refreshing break
After jumping in the water, sliding down eggs and splashing in the shallow ponds, it
comes a time for a quiet break. Resting under the canopies, surrounded by
greenery and trees, parents and children can gather for a relaxing moment. A
stepped terrace with seating edges and little cascades stretches along the northern
edge of the water play area, bringing a cool refreshment to the park guests. Small
waterfalls run through the steps on half of the terrace for an all-in-one experience: resting, cooling down, playing, gathering and spending quality time together.
egg patterns and colours
Multiple shades of blue for the Heron eggs, yellow and brown stains for the Black-
winged Stilt and a variety of green tones for the Cassowary eggs: these distinctive
hues reflect colours and patterns of the real bird eggs you can find in Mandai Bird
Park. A subtle learning experience layers here on top of all the active play: getting to
know the different species by identifying their peculiar eggs.
paving design
To tie playground and landscape design together, we make use of an embracing
graphical pattern that applies all over the designated play area: a craqueler pattern
derived from a Voronoi diagram, which adds a subtle contrast to the sinuous and
organic lines that characterize the play space.
get wet!
Well, so far you have been splashing in the pools, sliding with your friends and
family, getting lost in the mist and for brief moments relaxing with your feet in the
water. But there is more to discover at Egg Splash!
What about a surprise shower from a big water bucket or experiencing rain from a
water curtain ring? Programmed water chambers create a world of different configurations at the shallow water basin, with jets that raise up to almost 3 meters height! Want more action? Dive into the fast flowing rivulets and fight again the current. There are plenty of possibilities to be explored that make this waterplay one of a kind and bring the water experience to the next level. Ready to get wet and be
impressed?
