Ping Yi Greens is a high-rise housing estate situated in the heart of Chai Chee. Lush in vegetation and greenery, the colour of the estate is inspired by the historical heritage of its location. When translated to Hokkien, Chai Chee stands for “vegetable market” and refers to the old market situated there during its Kampung days. Ping Yi Greens was named after the fresh green vegetables sold by the villagers back then.
Pin Yi Greens
807B & 870C Chai Chee Street, Singapore
| Client | Housing & Development Board |
|---|---|
| Architect | Architect Team 3 Pte Ltd |
| Products | Carve, Kompan |
| Realisation | June 2015 |
The playground at Ping Yi Greens is like none other in Singapore. The ground beneath your feet transforms into a rising hill with terraced steps. Rubber EDPM flooring was used to shape a rolling landscape of differing heights that terraform the play area into its own distinctive space. By recreating the old hills and valleys of the area’s Kampong days, the design evokes a sense of nostalgia for the time before the natural landscape was flattened and paved over with concrete and steel.
Sensory Play
We chose to accentuate the sandy-brown terraced hills with the primary colours of blue, red, and yellow. The colours highlight the different levels of elevation used in the play area to create a terrain that children can scramble over. Through sensory play, children can re-live the experience that their parents used to have on the green and gentle hills of their Kampung days.
To add on to the vertical challenge that the playground offers our children and to train their physique and strength, two pentagonal dome-net structures are embedded into the sloped incline. The structures span a total area of 320 square metres, forming a basketweave pattern across the play space.
One structure boasts an internal climbing maze made up of hammock swings and sturdy Corocord ropes. The hammock swings allow children to scale the structure from within or to freely lounge about the space, facilitating opportunities for fun and interactions. The added height of the terrain creates a thrilling slide that serves as a reward for the adventurous children who climb to the top of the structure.
Aside from the main attraction of the play domes, the playground features plenty of interactive play equipment. Telephone tubes snake in and out of the ground to let children experiment with sound and experience sensory play. Children are encouraged to be creative with their play through the addition of other equipment such as spinners and an embedded trampoline.
By sculpting flat land into an interactive play area with terraced hills, we create various levels of active play for children of all ages to spin, jump and climb. All these improve balancing, fine motor, and interaction skills. The landscape also provides an open space for the community to gather beneath the stars, creating a social space for the community to relax and share their stories of bygone days.
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