Our Como Adventure Cove playground have been featured on several design and architecture website.
Biophilic is a buzzword these days, though the concept dates way back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It’s the idea that urban spaces can embrace nature, draw energy from it and give back to it.
The latest extension of Singapore’s iconic Botanical Gardens, COMO Adventure Grove creates play elements inspired by forest canopies, jungle trails and Singapore’s diverse flora. It’s a biophilic wonderland designed to inspire curiosity and encourage exploration.
On 21st March 2021, the Singapore Botanic Gardens unveiled its newest extension, the Gallop Extension, of which the COMO Adventure Grove is a part of. Brought to life by playground specialist, Playpoint, the Grove is a nature-themed playground that allows children to experience nature through sensory play, such as sight, sounds, touch, and smell. By making their experience with nature a fun, adventurous, yet safe one, children will be able to learn to love and care for Mother Earth.
To fully realise this multi-sensory experience, the Grove was designed based on the concept of ‘biophilia’. Biophilic designs are meant to celebrate and show respect for nature by providing an enriching urban environment using direct or indirect elements of nature, and creating a human connection to the natural environment where the structure is situated.
Nestled in the heart of Singapore sits the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which was founded in 1859. Spanning 82 hectares and housing more than 10,000 different species of plants, the Gardens has been an integral part of Singapore’s agricultural history through the collection, growth, experimentation and distribution of potentially useful plants. Since then, the Gardens has been carefully nurtured to inculcate a love and appreciation for nature in the residents of Singapore.
The Gardens’ most recent extension, the Gallop Extension, was unveiled on 21st March 2021, featuring the COMO Adventure Grove. Brought to life by playground specialist Playpoint, the Grove is a nature-themed playground designed and built based on the concept of biophilia.
Described as “the passionate love of life and all that is alive”, biophilic design is a concept used to increase connectivity to the natural environment. Biophilic designs are meant to celebrate and show respect for nature by providing an enriching urban environment using direct or indirect elements of nature, and creating a human connection to the natural environment where the structure is situated.
Families and their little ones visiting this area will be able to experience nature through sensory play, such as sight, sounds, touch, and smell. By guiding them to learn about nature through play, children would hopefully be able to love and care for Mother Earth.
Recently expanded by eight hectares, the Singapore Botanic Gardens now provides the public access to a botanical art gallery and forest discovery centre. That’s not all, though: the institution also worked with Playpoint to create a playground based on the idea of a jungle adventure. The large, biophilic recreational area is aimed at encouraging curiosity for and appreciation of the natural world, a complement to the Garden’s educational programme.
Como Adventure Grove’s play features all take inspiration from local flora, something the designers hope prompts children to ask their parents to teach them more about plants. Its main structure symbolizes a banyan tree, which is common in Singapore. Kids can climb up its hand-painted branches and descend via two winding slides. Meanwhile, there’s a range of oversized fruit and seed structures – like a jackfruit and saga seed – for jumping, balancing and exploring.
