Infinity | Blue Temple

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Infinity | Blue Temple

Information

  • Project Name: Infinity
  • Practice: Blue Temple
  • Products: Rhino , Grasshopper
  • Completion year: 2023
  • Gross Built up Area: 666 sqm
  • Project Location: Yangon
  • Country: Myanmar
  • Lead Architects/Designer: Raphaël Ascoli
  • Design Team: raphaël ascoli, ko zin, nyan linn aung, Bhone Mo
  • Clients: Lycée Français International de Rangoun - LFIR
  • Contractors: Monkey Joint Bamboo Players
  • Project Manager: Raphael Ascoli
  • Photo Credits: Nyan Zay Htet
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Excerpt: Blue Temple, a playground designed by Infinity, is a matrix within which the kids intuitively invent their own games and journey themselves into an infinite adventure. The entire structure is made from bamboo, and three different species were used, following the games like a bamboo jungle, fishing net, monkey bars, swings and Myanmar-style hopscotch.

Project Description

[Text as submitted by architect] The playground originally consisted of a big concrete floor with no shading and no games. The design weaves itself around the two existing trees on the site into an infinity-shaped structure. Within the structure, we articulated a series of games, which, combined, creates an infinitely long obstacle course.

Infinity | Blue Temple
Overall view © Nyan Zay Htet
Infinity | Blue Temple
Contrast with adjacent building, Detail picture © Nyan Zay Htet
Infinity | Blue Temple
Games diagram © Blue Temple

The games go in the following order: bamboo jungle; fishing net; monkey bars; swings; Myanmar-style hopscotch and repeat itself. The entire structure is made from bamboo, three different species were used, Dendrocalamus giganteus for the frames, bundles of Oxytenanthera albocialiata Munro for the curved elements, and Thyrsostachys siamensis for the bracing and roof beams.

Infinity | Blue Temple
Bamboo jungle © Nyan Zay Htet
Infinity | Blue Temple
Master plan © Blue Temple
Infinity | Blue Temple
Finishing net © Nyan Zay Htet

Within both openings of the shape, there are existing trees and seating spaces for the teachers to rest and check on the kids at the same time. At night, we installed LED strip lights along both curved structural elements of the playground, this ambient light effect is created by indirectly illuminating the playground, bouncing off the white color tarpaulin we used for the roof cover. During the daytime, the tarpaulin filters the sunlight to create a soft and comfortable environment to play in.

Infinity | Blue Temple
Bird-eye view © Nyan Zay Htet
Infinity | Blue Temple
Night view © Nyan Zay Htet
Infinity | Blue Temple
Elevation © Blue Temple

The roof changes in height according to different parameters: the types of games that are under; the passage for teachers to access the seating space; different views that adjacent buildings have onto the rest of the playground; and clearing a passageway for cars to access the entire courtyard. The entire concrete floor has been covered with painted white lines in the shape of projected contour lines. The 2D topography creates a landscape of imagination-fueled possibilities for games.

Infinity | Blue Temple
Topographic diagram © Blue Temple
Infinity | Blue Temple
Master plan © Blue Temple
Infinity | Blue Temple
Night view © Nyan Zay Htet

They were drawn precisely to respond to the surrounding and were painted using AR technology, Twinbuild on HoloLens 2. The playground intentionally does not dictate how the kids must play, it is a matrix within which the kids intuitively invent their own games and journey themselves into an infinite adventure.

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