A Geometrical Children’s Playground by French Designer Olivier Vadrot ⇒ The French designer Olivier Vadrot has created an open-air playground made of geometric structures that encourage children to socialise, in the northeastern outskirts of Paris. Settled in La Passerelle in the district of Roissy-en-France, the playground features three elements – the Ventriloquist’s Throne, the Pink Cockpit and the Council Seats.

Named Conversations, the project aims to provide a special space for kids to exchange ideas, tell tales and play around. “They oscillate between sculptures and functional objects,” said Vadrot.

“The idea was to create something monumental and durable that resists time, but more importantly children!” Vadrot told Dezeen. “The resulting monolithic shapes let children climb, run around and hide behind them, as they would do with trees or rocks, but they also invite them to start and stage conversations in different ways, stimulating fictional stories connected to the symbolic shapes of the pieces: a throne, a cockpit, and a council of the wises,” he said.

The first structure is the Ventriloquist’s Throne that consists of a double seat divided by a tall, cocooning structure with elevated sides. Made of volcanic stone from the Auvergne region in France, the tall backrest has a five centimetre, circular hole.

Similarly, the Pink Cockpit features a large, cone-shaped body with three recessed, arch-shaped seats that are connected by four holes for children to peer through and communicate. It is made of sandstone from the Vosges region in France.

Finally, the Council Seats feature ten cylindrical stools of various sizes arranged in a circle “around an imaginary fire”. “Like a miniature Stonehenge, the latter is a place to exchange ideas, tell stories, debate and play,” explained Vadrot.