The Tree Cave Fairy Paradise of Mansion Hills Demonstration Area, Jinan.

The Tree Cave Fairy Paradise is located in the backyard of Mansion Hills Demonstration Area, Jinan, covering an area of approximately 792㎡. With the inspiration from tree holes in fairy tales, the design inherits the natural tone of the residential project – “Forest Property” and “Mountain Residence”. La V-onderland’s designers aimed to create an artistic, fantastic and funny fairyland for children. In the future, the fairyland will also function as a children’s playground for the residential project. It will accompany children to grow up and become an unforgettable childhood memory.
At the early stage of the design, the sunken garden was a long and narrow space, while the existed site looked like a stressful enclosed box. After several repeated inspections, La V-onderland’s designers broke through the shackles of the restricted site condition, and came up with the solution of integrating slopes. The balance of height difference is achieved. Here, a meandering waterscape is created through the smart use of the existing landform and integrates with the recreation facilities. It not only unfolds sight area but also brings more possibilities to the design. In consideration of the afterwards drainage problem, a maximum gradient of less than 40% is under control to avoid ponding water on the site.
According to the fairyland’s theme scenarios and experience feelings, the designers divided the site into four parts, i.e. Entrance Zone, Fantasy Tree Hole, Happy Creek and Little Hole Hill. The play circulation and the traffic circulation are overlaid and intersected. A space with varying experiences is formed.
The playground meets the needs of all age groups. The Fantasy Tree Hole concentrates on school-age children and is equipped with big slides, bridges, balance beams, climbing nets, telescopes, etc. The Little Hole Hill is equipped with slides and caves for pre-school children. The Happy Creek is the most popular area that naturally attracts both adults and children to play water in summer.
Passing through the B1 gym into the children’s playground, there is the logo wall at the entrance and the Fantasy Tree Hole. It is like a scroll painting of deep forests, with an ambience of fairy tales, mysterious and warm.
The combination of the two tree holes is a landmark facility for the site. The fantasy style is a metaphor of an elf hut in fairy tales. The overall color palette, with focus on warm yellow and earth tone, brings warmth and joy to kids in winter, a season with fewer daylight hours.
The night lighting respond to the fantasy theme of the tree hole and forest. At the entrance of the tree holes, the hidden light is revealed. The window’s respiratory lights twinkle at night, adding a mysterious tone to the tree holes and forest.
The tree holes comprise various recreation equipments, such as megaphones, optical illusion disks, crawling tunnels, bridges, balance beams, climbing nets, hammock floors, view platforms, telescopes, big slides, etc. Kids can exercise the abilities of coordination and balance as well as the spirits of exploration and the willpower. The design combines aesthetics with recreation.
A meandering creek flows downwards slowly from the highland of the site. A round water play pool is formed. It also functions as a water feature. For kids, there is no resistance to water play. In summer, here is their paradise. The creek is equipped with interactive fountains, water gates and foot bathing pools, etc.
The Little Hole Hill is one of the most popular facilities beloved by kids. It is designed to emerge like round mounds naturally embedded into the green land, with different inner and outer spaces. Through the change of curved surfaces in the design, the slopes of varying gradient are formed, evolving different play experiences of entering and climbing. There is also a small slide on the sunken surface for toddlers. Kids can burrow in the caves like moles. When night comes, there is a fantasy light emitting from the caves.
A scroll painting of organic and fantasy forests, which comprises the landmark tree holes and the landscaped Little Hole Hill as well as the Happy Creek, attracts kids to come and explore.