Enter a coffee shop tucked into a suburban strip mall and find yourself in a custom village built for children to explore, imagine and enjoy. A personal play area is designed and customized to fit the lifestyle and taste of the children of the house. A public play area must be able to interest and captivate every child with its unique and creative style. The At Play Café was built with the intent to create an enjoyable space for adults and children alike. It had to incorporate all of the adventure and creativity essential for a child and the clean spacious and safe atmosphere every parent can feel comfortable in. A public space must follow the same design and build factors that are followed in a personal space: theme, focus, storage, growth and safety.
Theme – The theme for this space had to be two fold – provide a creative and playful area for the younger guests and a clean mature environment for the older guests. The child’s area is built as a small village where the kids have their own market, firehouse and theatre. A village where every detail is dedicated to them, even the chairs and grocery carts are sized for little citizens. This theme was critical as it defined this creative and innovative business.
Focus – Along with the theme, the focus is pulled in multiple directions. In planning the space there were intended to be many areas of focus, each dedicated to a certain activity and guest. The café and adult spaces provide tables, magazines and a high quality coffee shop where the adult guests could enjoy a moment while staying within sight of their playing children. There are then two main play spaces – the Village and the activity room. The village was a custom creation built specifically to entertain and invigorate all the children that come to play. Whether they want to go shopping at the market, pretend to be a fireman racing down the slide or a singer on the stage this area has them covered.
Storage – Being a public space, storage requirements are slightly different but no less critical. The items brought into the play spaces must have a designated and labeled space for nightly reorganization.
Growth – This space did not need to be built with forecasted growth – instead it needed to be functional and fun for a wide range of ages from its inception. This meant incorporating lower level play areas for the younger guests and upper level homes for the bigger more adventurous kids. Access to the upper level play area is an easy climb for the bigger kids and still a fun challenge for the younger and adventurous players.
Safety – Safety is paramount in a public play area while still allowing children to play and have a great time ensuring the least possibility of an accident. Each corner of this structure has been thoughtfully reviewed to ensure that a fun time can be had without concern for harm. Access to the upper levels to was designed as a ramp to account for smaller adventurers and the steps have been padded in the event of a slow fall. Edges have been covered or rounded and each element has been added or customized to be safe for all ages.
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