Wonderkin Press Release
Wonderkin is a kids ‘edutainment’ playroom in Kuwait City where children from toddlers to preteens get to be active and learn new things all while they play. The playroom sits within an outdoor complex of shops and cafes generally intended for young adults and parents, so an elegant but fun look was the aim for the facade design as well as the interior soft aesthetic which had a ‘colourful Nordic’ theme.
From pastel leathers to natural wooden furniture and toys, the 180sqm playroom is colourful yet elegant, it has a reception where the kids drop off their bags and take off their shoes before they go in to play, there’s a waiting area for the parents to watch their kids from, and once they enter they can go up the softplay jungle and and ride the slides or crawl on the rope-net bridge to the other side of the playroom and go down the other slide into a ball pit.
The activity areas were divided by mini-buildings with mini-brick facades or shingled roofs where kids can play-act as shoppers, baristas, firemen, or craftsmen. To ensure the safety of the kids, all surfaces in the softplay jungle are padded with soft leather cushioned surfaces, from steel bars to concrete columns, to floors and railings. And underneath this all is a soft anti-bacterial cork flooring.
Fiberglass slides were custom-designed by Manmade Studio and built in Abu Dhabi to coordinate in colour to the rest of the interior. The facade includes 2 elements from the branding; the logo, and the fluffy character, Woohoo, which is the main playful indicator to outsiders that this is a kids play area. The base of the facade is a curved sand-lime brick which is a modest blend between the building’s brick and the soft, playful interior.
CREDITS:
Photographer: Mohammed Ashkanani
Fitout contractor: Jiroun
Architect: Manmade Studio
Interior Designer: Manmade Studio
Design Team: Jassim AlNashmi, Shenouda Talat, Ertugrul Yilmaz, Zamir Rira
Branding Design by PDF
Program / Use / Building Function: Kids playroom, workshop, and event space
PRODUCTS:
1. Fiberglass slides from Urban Play, Abu Dhabi
2. Cork Flooring from Puretree UK
3. Sand-lime brick from National Industries, Kuwait
4. Acrylic slide from Cheer Amusement
5. Kids toys from Hamleys
Area: 180sqm
Completion time: 100 days
Location: Al Andalus Complex, Hawally, Kuwait
