PLAY+LEARN
Design For Kids’ Community

The individual responsible for conceiving and developing ‘play and learning spaces’ for children brings a breadth of diverse roles and extensive experience to the endeavor. These spaces transcend physical boundaries, representing critical developmental platforms that facilitate comprehensive growth, creative expression, and imaginative exploration in all facets.

Pakanlen
The Facebook page “Pakanlen” (พากันเล่น), which playfully originated from “Pa Kan Len” – meaning “take Kan to play” (Kan being the child of founders Aja and Nui), has blossomed from a simple idea of family activities into a thriving community of creative play. It brings together like-minded parents who view their children’s free time as a crucial period for growth through experimentation and learning.

What started as small gatherings among friends evolved into an open platform for other families. At its core, “Pakanlen” believes that activities should be genuinely enjoyable for parents first, as this enthusiasm guarantees a high-quality and delightful experience for the children. As the admin team emphasizes, “If parents aren’t excited to plan it, we don’t do it!” This commitment ensures that every activity is packed with quality and fun.
Led by Aja and Nui (Kan’s parents) and joined by Carrot (a handmade craft freelancer) and Pom (a film director), the “Pakanlen” admin team of four, representing two families, actively designs and curates activities. Having just celebrated its first anniversary, the page focuses on experiential learning and hands-on activities, promoting observation, learning, and communication.The team leverages each parent’s unique skills and interests to craft diverse and enriching experiences. They firmly believe that these activities foster holistic development, including creativity, imagination, problem-solving skills, and collaboration. Beyond their own events, “Pakanlen” also partners with other groups and organizations that share their philosophy of creative play, continuously expanding their circle of joyful learning and friendship.

Pakanlen designs activities by carefully considering what makes play genuinely fun and creatively enriching. Their approach focuses on helping children observe, learn, and communicate through hands-on, experiential activities that draw inspiration from everyday life. Every activity is a unique blend of planned learning outcomes and open-ended discoveries, allowing children to experiment, express ideas, and even make mistakes without judgment. A crucial element is collaborative play, which naturally fosters social skills and problem-solving.
The core of the page’s success is a deep understanding of children’s needs. They recognize that every child is unique in their interests, strengths, and learning pace. The team prioritizes creating a supportive, non-judgmental environment where children feel safe and free to be themselves, believing that this atmosphere is key to effective learning. They emphasize the process over the outcome, valuing the experience of doing, thinking, and learning from mistakes far more than a perfect final product. Parents are seen as vital partners, whose active participation and support significantly enhance their children’s learning journey.

“Pakanlen” envisions becoming more than just an activity group; their dream is to build a robust “learning community.” They aspire to create a space where parents, children, and community members come together to co-create positive experiences, share knowledge, and inspire one another, ultimately contributing to children’s development and a better society.

Yarinda Bunnag on Designing “Play Stories” for Creative Happiness
Yarinda Bunnag, Co-founder of the design studio Imaginary Objects (IO), uses her dual roles as a mother and an architect to create meaningful and creatively enriching play spaces for children. Recognizing the critical importance of a “Third Place” beyond home and school, where children can socialize and develop skills, she saw a significant lack of playgrounds and public outdoor spaces in Bangkok, particularly during the 2020 pandemic.

This observation led IO to propose a project to the Creative Economy Agency (CEA) focused on transforming unused urban spaces into community magnets by building playgrounds. Supported by Vespa (Thailand), this initiative successfully launched three pilot playgrounds, turning neglected areas into vibrant hubs where families could connect and children could learn through play.

Bunnag’s approach to playground design is unique, moving beyond traditional architecture. She thinks in three dimensions, considering how children climb, swing, and hang, utilizing every surface like a sculpture. These smaller-scale projects offer quick, tangible results, bringing immense satisfaction when seeing children’s joy. With a background in teaching, shared with her Co-founder Roberto Requejo Belette, Bunnag views playgrounds as vital learning tools for child development, leading to numerous designs that integrate learning, development, and creativity.

This philosophy extended to “Kitblox,” a portable playground concept for a children’s festival. Instead of building a playground for children, IO designed oversized, colorful blocks that empower children to build their own play spaces. This open-ended approach encourages teamwork, coordination, and creative problem-solving. Children learn by doing, experimenting, and even embracing failure as part of the process. Bunnag’s own children are often involved in testing and providing feedback on designs, ensuring they meet the needs and preferences of young users.

Working on children’s play spaces has profoundly impacted Bunnag’s broader design perspective. She’s gained fresh insights from children’s unrestricted creativity and willingness to explore unconventional uses of space. This experience has pushed her to think outside the box and challenge traditional design norms, leading to more innovative solutions across all her architectural projects. The core lesson is that understanding the users and embracing their unique perspectives can unlock the full potential of any space, fostering creative happiness for both children and adults.

BAAN MAEW MAEW: Where Family Play Inspires Creative Enterprise
The “BAAN MAEW MAEW” brand is a testament to the power of quality family time and imaginative play, transforming shared experiences into a creative enterprise. It all began during the COVID-19 pandemic when fashion designer Vitchukorn “Vi” Chokedeetaweeanan and her family — husband Bon, their son, and young daughter Vela — spent ample time together. Activities like reading storybooks and crafting toys with recycled materials, such as building a paper house craft from recycled boxes, not only strengthened family bonds but also fostered creativity and problem-solving skills in the children.

This family environment led to the creation of the picture book “The Cat Bites Me” initiated by Vela, who was in kindergarten at the time. Vela conceived the story and imagery, with her mother assisting with text, drawing, and coloring. Collaborating with Routine Studio’s Ped Pakpoom Lamoonpan and Yune Payoon Worachananan, the character designs were refined. Vela actively participated throughout the process, offering insightful feedback that often surprised the adults, demonstrating children’s unique perspective on detail. The successful publication of her story brought Vela immense pride and became the foundation for the “BAAN MAEW MAEW” brand.

Driven by a love for their cats, Moji and Nori (who became the book’s main characters), and the family’s shared creativity, “BAAN MAEW MAEW” now offers a range of merchandise, including clothing, accessories, and souvenirs featuring their distinctive cat characters. These products emphasize quality, affordability, and environmental consciousness. Crucially, “BAAN MAEW MAEW” aims to spread the same joy and smiles that their family experienced, integrating love for animals, creative development, and multi-dimensional skill-building into their brand. They are currently working on a third storybook, various activities, and plans to expand their cat characters into Intellectual Property Licensing for a wider, international audience.

From a designer and mother’s perspective, the most vital elements in fostering children’s creativity and imagination are shared family activities and learning through play. Vitchukorn emphasizes creating an open, non-judgmental environment where children can explore their interests freely. She believes mistakes are a crucial part of learning, encouraging children to experiment, learn from failures, and express themselves with the vital encouragement and support of their parents, regardless of a perfect outcome.

Mulamati: A Rainbow Village for kids and the kids in all of us.
Mulamati, meaning “House of Imagination,” is the tangible dream of Matina “Ae” Sukhahuta, co-founder of the Sretsis brand. It’s a vibrant rainbow village on Koh Samui designed as a limitless space for play, imagination, and creative learning, not just for children but for the “inner child” within every adult. Ae believes that a happy childhood fosters secure adults and that learning is a lifelong journey.

Driven by a desire to create a space where children could freely learn and be themselves, Ae serendipitously discovered a plot of land with a large Banyan tree and bamboo bungalows on Taling Ngam Beach. Despite facing numerous setbacks, including two contractors abandoning the project, Ae persevered. During a challenging period, she took a month-long yoga training course, a crucial step that helped her regain positive energy and eventually find a third contractor to bring her vision to life.

The core concept of Mulamati’s design is inspired by the seven chakras, with “Mula” from Muladhara (Root Chakra) signifying a strong foundation, and “Mati” meaning imagination. The result is a welcoming, colorful space that represents childhood creativity. Mulamati aims to be a “MULAMATI Rainbow Village: The Land for kids and the kids in all of us!” offering diverse activities like art, crafts, music, games, and an open-air playground. They also plan adult workshops, such as batik making and coconut leaves weaving, led by rotating instructors called “rainbow teachers.” Emphasizing sustainability, art classes often incorporate recycled materials, and there’s a strong desire to involve the local community, evidenced by Mulamati hosting English classes for the local municipality’s children.

While Mulamati has garnered positive feedback, with children happily exploring and families enjoying the safe environment, Ae acknowledges that building a complete community and achieving business sustainability remain ongoing challenges. She envisions a more active community space with diverse, frequent activities and a stronger financial foundation. However, witnessing children’s smiles and families’ joy, and recognizing the personal growth she’s experienced through this “dream project,” reaffirms that she has come a long way. This journey has taught her to be kinder to herself and to celebrate her perseverance in bringing Mulamati to fruition.