VUILD creates 3d-printed architecture for children
VUILD’s White Loop is a sculptural 3D-printed play structure for children’s first encounters with architecture. Installed within Kiyoharu Art Village in Japan, the structure takes the form of a continuous, Möbius strip-like loop with integrated climbing and sliding functions. Inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s play sculptures, the installation encourages young wanderers to explore movement, space, and interaction in an intuitive and organic way.
The design also channels the transformative and fluid forms of the Barbapapa books, whose characters morph into animals and objects that embrace and shelter with familiar colors and shapes. They wrap plastic around their bodies, expand themselves, and then shrink to leave behind an organic space. This inspired an approach where the structure itself adapts to children’s movements, providing a free-flowing, immersive play experience.
all images by Hayato Kurobe
a looping slide inspired by fictional creatures & the mobius strip
VUILD’s play equipment draws on the energy of children at play. A visit to Noguchi’s Black Slide Mantra in Sapporo served as a key reference, notes the Japanese studio, particularly the way children instinctively and repeatedly spiral up and down its form. ‘Inspired by this scene, I envisioned an image in my mind of children weaving between birch trees, spiraling up and down in large, expansive loops, chasing each other playfully, which became my initial concept.’
Observing children’s behavior on conventional slides, the designers identified common moments of hesitation, conflict, and excitement — such as confusion when another child moves in the wrong direction or disappointment when someone cuts ahead in line. To address this, White Loop eliminates distinct separations between climbing and sliding, allowing children to freely move between activities. Its continuous form enables a fluid sequence of engagement: entering a cave-like space, ascending organically shaped steps, pausing to take in the surroundings, and then joyfully sliding back down to start again.
VUILD’s White Loop is a sculptural 3D-printed play structure
envisioned as children’s first encounters with architecture
the structure takes the form of a continuous, Möbius strip-like loop
VUILD eliminates separations between climbing and sliding, allowing children to freely move between activities
its continuous form enables a fluid sequence of engagement
project info:
name: White Loop
architect: VUILD
location: Kiyoharu Art Village, Japan
design team: Koki Akiyoshi, Kenta Isebo, Nozomu Sudo
production: Yasufumi Hanada, Yoji Konishi
3D printing: DigitalArchi — Yasutomo Matsuoka, Hiroyuki Tachikawa
structural supervisor: Arup — Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kazuma Goto
photographer: Hayato Kurobe
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edited by: ravail khan | designboom
