A square as a ludic space for children to freely explore – this was the idea behind the project for the Children Square Iguatemi, which will be built shortly on a site of 900 m², in the midst of a residential area.
The wooden circular wall with a circumference of 11.5m and a height of 2.5m define the organization of the square. All of the areas converge in this Center formulating an image similar to the spatial distribution of meetings in primitive places: a wheel of stories around a fire or indigenous hollow fibers around a large empty circle.
The wooden circular construction has portals and some of them lead to the external part, the peripheral to the empty Center and separated by the wall where the children encounter new worlds. These passages reveal gardens with wild flowers and fountains. Some children play hide-and-seek and invade a small secret labyrinth. And when the game turns into a game of tag, they once again return to the center of the square running and jumping on the open and free and uncovered grass.
There in the central emptiness, other openings, portals in wooden walls offer more activities. Child creativity is the catalyst for these games, rides and toys that do not impose any specific use, but they induce forms of exploration. On the one hand – encrusted in the wooden concave gable – there is a marionette theater; and in front – in another niche – there are sliding ponds and swings.
The Children Square Iguatemi is not a boring place for children to kill time. To the contrary, it is a live garden, filled with open-air discoveries that offer an unforgettable experience for the children. Their imaginations delve into spaces, each having different rides and toys, and the children get wet, slide, scream, slide, climb and explore this place of happiness in small packages.
