Inspired by the clouds above the Zao Mountains, this wooden playground creates an open and welcoming environment where every child can explore freely.
In Yamagata City, Japan, where long winters and heavy snowfall shape everyday life, architect Maki Onishi designed a distinctive playground that brings together architecture, nature, and inclusive play.
Rather than creating a conventional playground filled with separate equipment, the project treats the entire building as a place for discovery. Curved surfaces, timber elements, gentle slopes, and open spaces encourage children to move naturally through the environment, turning architecture itself into part of the play experience.
Contents :
1. A Roof Inspired by the Clouds Above the Zao Mountains
2. A Playground Designed for Everyone
3. Connecting Children with Nature Through the Senses
A Roof Inspired by the Clouds Above the Zao Mountains
One of the playground's most recognizable features is its roof.
Inspired by clouds drifting above the nearby Zao Mountain Range, its soft and flowing form connects the building visually with the surrounding landscape. Instead of standing apart from nature, the architecture becomes an extension of it.
Inside, timber is used extensively to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere. Vertical wooden slats across the ceiling introduce rhythm and openness, giving children the feeling of looking outward toward the surrounding environment.
Natural materials, light, and architectural form work together to soften the boundary between indoors and outdoors, creating a space that feels protected without being enclosed.
A Playground Designed for Everyone
Inclusivity is at the heart of the playground.
Instead of defining how children should use each area, the design removes unnecessary barriers and gives them the freedom to discover their own ways of playing.
Small steps become places to climb. Gentle slopes encourage movement. Curved walls create paths for exploration, while wooden spheres integrated into the handrails invite children to touch and interact with the space.
These architectural details are not simply decorative. They allow children with different abilities and needs to share the same environment, encouraging them to move, explore, and play together.
The result is a playground where freedom and accessibility become part of the architecture itself.
Connecting Children with Nature Through the Senses
Wood plays an important role in shaping how children experience the playground.
Its natural grain, warmth, texture, and tactile qualities provide a sensory experience that manufactured surfaces cannot easily reproduce. By touching timber, moving through wooden structures, and interacting with different forms, children can develop coordination and spatial awareness while building a closer relationship with natural materials.
This experience also reflects the concept of wood education, where children learn about forests, timber, and the environment through everyday interaction rather than through explanation alone.
When children become familiar with natural materials from an early age, they can begin to understand that wood is more than a construction material. It is a renewable resource connected to forests, ecosystems, design, and daily life.
This inclusive playground in Yamagata therefore represents more than a place for recreation. It demonstrates how thoughtful architecture and natural materials can create an environment where inclusivity, learning, play, and sustainability grow together.
Project Information
Location: Yamagata City, Japan – Inclusive Playground
Architectural Team: onishimaki+hyakudayuki architects / o+h
Year: 2022
Photographer: Kohei Shikama, Commissioned by the Nippon Foundation DIVERSITY IN THE ARTS, Nacasa & Partners
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Reference:
https://www.wowlavie.com/article/ae2301205.