Carve

Carve’s work in the historic Tophane Park is largely based on a curious object made of stone. It seems that with its contemporary appearance it questions its historic surroundings. It is a complex morphology that offers many different types of play. In Carve’s words, it comprises stimulating challenges for ‘sliding, stepping, climbing, lounging, crawling, performing, balancing’ and also invites other unforeseen means of interaction. All in one excellent exercise in shape and material. The jury praised the use of local craftsmanship. The shaping of the stone wouldn’t be possible in many other countries due to high expenses, which, essentially, makes it site-specific.

Furthermore, due to its sculptural quality, it doesn’t necessarily look like a playground. The design of the playground holds many situations with an abstract charge; there is a hole that can act as a door, and there is a clear distinction between being inside and outside, up and down, so children may see it as a fortress, a space-ship, a creature from another world …

The object’s context, everlasting material, contemporary shape, and its relation to the park and the trees offer enough contrasts and use interpretations that engage the imagination of children much more than conventional, catalogue-based playgrounds.

city and play Aldgate, located in the heart of the City of London, could have easily become a space dominated by corporate use, where people rush through on their way to work or briefly spend lunch breaks glued to their phones. Without thoughtful intervention, it would have remained underused outside of peak hours. But Carve, […]

A new public realm for the Arcloud Shopping Mall in Hanam Gamil Arcloud is a large mixed-use development located at the foot of the Geomdansan mountain on the eastern edge of Seoul. It includes housing, commercial, recreational, and educational facilities – is tied together by a string of large parks and a green corridor that […]

play is primary As Johan Huizinga (Dutch philosopher and anthropologist) expressed: ‘play is primary’. It is a key factor in creating community, which outlasts the actual time. 
In a large metropolis like London, public spaces have a crucial role in supporting inclusiveness, social interactions between different backgrounds, and inter-generational bonds. In Carve, our goal is […]

play with heritage Hidden in the beautiful mountainous landscape of Piemonte, some little towns stand out as tiny gems in the lush green of the woods. These small agglomerations of few houses tied together inspired Carve for the design of an attractive and iconic playscape concept at Serravalle Designer Outlet. Carve was asked by McArthurGlen, […]

iconic landmarks A fantastic playcloud structure has arisen in the city of Istanbul. They are the iconic landmarks of a new open air playground on the roofpark of Marmara Forum, a shopping center in the Bakirköy district. The windows of the clouds magically change colours as daylight changes throughout the day. While in silence at […]

In 2015 Carve and Playpoint won a tender for an adventurous sliding attraction inside the Jewel Changi Airport development, designed by Moshe Safdie Architects. The attraction is located in the Canopy Park on the highest level of the new development, which includes a shopping mall, attraction park and a garden, all in front of Terminal […]

The team of Carve and Omgeving (design) and Krinkels (contractor) won the international competition to design an adventurous play-scape and landmark on a ‘terril’ in Beringen, Belgium, in January 2015. The adventure mountain is part of the touristic, recreative project be-MINE, that aims to breathe new life into the monumental coalmining site in Beringen, the […]