DreamScape

Playground for Children, Dadaab, Kenya

"The Tragic Situation at Dadaab Refugee Camp"

Unending political, religious conflicts, and disputes have given rise to refugees in various regions. The Dadaab Refugee Camp, the world's largest refugee settlement formed in the 1990s when Somali refugees converged, has long exceeded its capacity due to ongoing conflicts and climate change. Women and children fled the war in search of new hope, but they still live there in makeshift huts made of sticks and plastic sheets. The most crucial hope for overcoming these difficult realities lies in the children. However, there are many children in need of education, but schools are severely lacking, and many children on the front lines of survival are unable to attend school, spending their days passively.

"DreamScape: A Modular Space for Children"

War and drought have taken away from these children the comfort of a home, and laughter with parents and friends. These tragic issues of reality must not rob children of their dreams and futures. We aimed to design play equipment that would allow children to have pure fun while simultaneously realizing their potential through cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. We designed a more straightforward yet complex and spatially intriguing modular structure that encourages children to actively experience and transform the space. Children will enjoy various movements and activities, enhancing their latent abilities and enabling them to move beyond trauma and embrace new hope.

"Simple Shapes, Endless Play: DreamScape for Refugee Children"

A module made up of simple shapes like squares and isosceles triangles may be simple, but it evokes spatial interest. From various angles, children will enjoy different views and freely roll, assemble, and manipulate the module with their own hands, creating a large space for themselves. They will climb, hang, roll, and explore the space to their hearts' content.

"Familiar Play in Unfamiliar Places"

Although there are no playgrounds or play equipment, this module is not unfamiliar to the children of Dadaab, who spend their days rolling and playing with visible objects. This module allows children to approach it with familiarity while understanding its geometric structure, experiencing the space, and having fun. Children will gain mental and physical development that was not possible in previous limited forms of play as they play freely. Furthermore, they can enhance their imagination, problem-solving skills, and cooperation abilities as they transform the space with their friends.

"Building Dreams: Hope for Refugees"

This module will give hope to refugees who previously built houses only for survival, enabling them to build their dreams.

Site Planning

DreamScape is very easy to install and assemble, making it versatile and adaptable to any location. It can be set up in any open space large enough for children to play, with various sites accessible to a wide range of children. The following map shows the layout of the Ifo district within Dadaab. This area is surrounded by many residential blocks and has excellent accessibility to markets, schools, and camp facilities, making it easy for children from diverse backgrounds to come and play together.

Components and Assemble of the Module

There are 5 kinds of components in the module of "DreamScape"

1. Wood: Main Structure in different functions and shapes

- Square Timber: structure elements, Linear or Diagonal

- Joint Parts: key joint of unit structure

2. Plastic: Bars in three different functions and two different shapes

- Stepladder: to climb up

- Monkey Bars: to move around

- Resting Roof: to take a rest, Inserting Mechanism

3. Solid in several shapes in two different materials

- Fabric: flexible material used as a hammock

- Plastic: sturdy material used for safety

guard and resting area connecting to structure with clip joint

4. Mesh in two different functions and shape

- Net Ladder: to climb up

- Semi Surface: to rest like in a hammock

5. Joints

These 5 Components are combined in various ways.

The following 2 Structures are samples of completion.

Module Scale

We have installed joints at a basic spacing of 400 to allow children of various ages(under 9 years old) to enjoy various physical movements. These joints can accommodate freely installing triangles, nets, fabrics, and wooden climbers.

Behaviors

The module was designed for children to behave variously. Children can hang, climb, trumble, or speculate.

Behaviors are not defined by any others but by children themselves. It was allowed by the Climber, Net, and Fabric which can be set differently by the hands of children.

The module itself also works as a puzzle, as it can be assembled and stacked easily by children. It will give them free of imagining and a chance to cooperate and communicate with friends.