Architecture for Children. Research of Selected Cases of Separated Play Zones for Kids in the Public Utility Interiors

For many years it has become natural that urban spaces and public interiors are adapted to the needs of disabled and elderly people. However, there is one more group in society – children – whose needs differ significantly from those generally accepted. The undertaken research was an attempt to find answers to the questions: what facilities for children can be found in public spaces, what they look like and what are the characteristics of separate play corners in public interiors.

The preliminary survey research allowed to define the degree of adaptation of public places for preschool children. This resulted in narrowing the research topic to free, separate zones – the so-called children’s corners in public utility interiors.

Corners are small, separate and free zones for fun, education and relaxation in public interiors, usually constituting a small part of a service or commercial premises. The playroom, on the other hand, is a much larger space, often paid, being a separate premises, employing staff, focused on active play. More and more often, especially in large cities (eg Katowice, Warsaw), we can find premises dedicated to carers with children, where the corners even become playrooms and may constitute a significant percentage of the premises (even more than 50%).

The research was conducted from the following perspectives:

The aim of the study is to explore the issues of separate zones for children in public utility interiors and to define guidelines for the process of shaping them through learning the needs of the youngest, guardians and other users, child development, safety rules and the opinions of premises owners and producers.

Play is a natural entertainment activity known for centuries, regardless of the situation it means an activity that generates positive emotions and smiles of participants [6]. In the first years of life, play is extremely important. It is a natural, necessary and important stage in a child’s development, serves education, exploring the world, and preparing for adult life, and has a huge impact on the growth of intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills [7].

Play is a form of physical activity that develops motor skills by engaging the muscles of the whole body, improving the child’s mobility, flexibility and agility. Having fun helps you to deal with difficult emotions and stress. By imitating the behavior of adults in difficult moments for the child, the youngest give way to emotions and get used to the new situation, practice behavior and prepare for future possible and problematic circumstances. Playing helps to discharge energy, improves mood, preventing anxiety, neurosis and depression [8].

One of the basic meanings of play is education. From the first months of life, children learn shapes, colors, textures, objects, their meanings through play. They get to know the world and the surrounding reality, and at a later stage they learn everyday activities. By carrying out trials, “experiments”, observations, research and correlations, they gain knowledge, learning about cause-and-effect relationships [9].

Playing allows to free from fears and tensions, which are very often generated by the environment, causing suppression of emotions. Later play helps the child to get used to the situation, to express his feelings, fears, opinions, and to satisfy desires that are not always possible. Having fun influences better information transfer, enriching vocabulary and better communications [10].

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

The child in the peer group is the best at assimilating moral norms, unlike adults, children are much less tolerant of deception and non-compliance with the rules. Playing teaches social behavior, rules governing the group, control over emotions, but at the same time it can increase self-confidence by being satisfied with winning or own efficiency. Playing teaches collective responsibility, helping others, establishing relationships, friendship, and resolving conflicts. Belonging to a group reduces selfish endeavors. Scuffles and small fights have a beneficial effect on the development of social skills and emotional self-control [10].

Play is also a great opportunity for an adult guardian to observe the child’s behavior. During play, the child is able to convey his problems, views and thoughts, and we can notice disturbing behaviors in time and react accordingly. It is also the best moment to share experience, see maturity and build a lasting bond between an adult and a child. Moreover, play has a very good effect on concentration, increases learning efficiency and memory. It requires repeated creativity, thanks to which the mind is creatively developed and the imagination is enriched [8].

Playrooms in shopping malls or mini-corners for children in restaurants and pharmacies are currently a common phenomenon. Their presence is especially appreciated by parents and guardians, e.g. when shopping or dealing with official matters. Research conducted on 109 Internet users showed that 99.1% of respondents met with special children’s corners in public places [3]. Most facilities for the youngest and at the same time the most diverse educational and entertainment spaces are located in shopping centers, although their area does not matter here. The location of the facility has a significant impact on the presence and variety of equipment – the most interesting examples can be found in large cities such as Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow and in the cities of the Silesian agglomeration.

The survey research was carried out in the Silesia Voivodeship, in such cities as: Zabrze, Gliwice, Katowice. 55 objects with various functions were analyzed, of which 22 did not have corners and other amenities for children. The information collected during the initial survey allowed to define the main groups of facilities most often equipped with children’s corners. Among them, apart from the above-mentioned facilities, we can distinguish interiors such as: offices, pharmacies, furniture and interior design showrooms, cultural centers, hotels, libraries and reading rooms. Interesting examples of single children’s zones were also found in bakeries, clothing and footwear stores, jewelry stores, airports, transfer centers, hairdressing salons, car dealerships, travel agencies, opticians’ shops, insurance companies, garden stores. Internet users also indicated, inter alia, cinemas, private health care facilities, gyms, employment office [3].

Corners located in selected Polish cities were selected for the main research and divided into groups according to the function of the facility:

Figure 3.

Then the corners were ordered according to the scale:

Ultimately, 94 objects with corners appearing were selected for the study and the following research criteria were assigned to them:

The size of the corners influences the offered form of activity. Small corners in service premises are most often places for quiet play for one child or a very small group (100% of the analyzed pharmacies, hairdressing salons and medical clinics). In shopping centers, the opposite is true: the corners are associated with active play, especially favored by older children (11 out of 15 corners in shopping malls are adapted to group play). Younger children are more likely to use foam rockers, their play is a bit calmer. Group play is also an appropriate and thoughtful arrangement of seats and tables, it is team games and games, even multimedia ones, selection of toys (e.g. large blocks requiring cooperation in building a common space). During the field research, several examples of places using modern technologies were found – games requiring cooperation with other users of the corner (3 play zones). Out of 94 corners analyzed, 47 places are adapted to group play.

Figure 4.

When planning children’s zones, you cannot forget about adults who not only look after the kids, but also very often participate in play.

Assessment criteria have been defined for each group of objects, the most important ones are presented below, along with a description and examples of solutions encountered.

6.1.

Criterion 1: Visual appeal and equipment for children’s corners

The spaces in which we stay have a huge impact on us: colors can stimulate action, calm down or cause anxiety, long-term lack of access to daylight has a negative impact on our well-being. In the case of the youngest, the places they stay, the surrounding objects, and the materials significantly influence their sensitivity.

When asked about the visual attractiveness and aesthetics of the playroom, the vast majority of Internet users answered that they were unattractive (i.e. 45% definitely not, 18.3% rather not). The survey was expanded to include open-ended questions. Here are some examples of respondents’ statements:

I have the impression that the corners are made of what was left in the house by the employees and the owner.

Usually, such places are designed as if under duress. They lack a deeper understanding of the nature of a child and his needs. Children’s corners are usually limited to broken crayons and previously colored coloring books [3].

The great majority of respondents indicated repetitive furnishings (70.6%) and unsightly appearance (61.5%) as the biggest problems of the existing corners, with random colors and artificial materials (56.9%) in the third place [3].

Most of the small-area children’s corners are dominated by unplanned spaces saturated with color of questionable aesthetics, equipped with repetitive and limited accessories. They usually constitute an unattractive element in the interior, have a negative impact on the reception of the premises, and are overcrowded with random objects. The dominant material is plastic, the corners are filled with colors. Equipment in many places is limited to a table, a chair, a few toys, crayons and coloring books (21 out of 94 corners). We can often find various types of blocks, puzzles, puzzles, mascots, cars, children’s books, there are also wall boards, board games, playhouses, in shopping malls or chain stores you can see touch screens with games or fairy tale screenings. Larger corners are equipped with slides, large spatial blocks for creating own play areas (7 out of 15 shopping malls). In small corners, the cold hard floor is often covered with a small rug or a colorful foam mat in the form of large puzzles (seen in 22 corners). Out of 94 corners, only 17 were assessed as visually attractive, 11 facilities received a neutral assessment, and 66 negative.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

6.2.

Criterion 2: The leitmotif and reference to the function of the facility

Playing a little chemist during a visit in a pharmacy, playing dressing up in clothing stores, interesting facts in the field of optics in an optician’s shop are examples of thematic diversification of activity in the corners and visual and thematic coherence with the space in which the youngest are located. Unfortunately, there are only a few places that can be cited as an example of how a corner connects with the function of a restaurant, among the corners covered by the study, only 6 referred to the function of the facility in terms of their appearance and offered attractions.

Interesting corners are offered to children by Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (PZU), specially created graphics – “Niestraszaki” creatures can be found in the form of attractive and friendly wall graphics, puzzles and toys in many insurance institutions. The original characters were created to teach children appropriate behavior and develop positive safety habits.

Figure 7.

6.4.

Criterion 4: More than fun

The blocks are an excellent form of developing fine motor skills, blank sheets are a huge field for creative activities, but only when they find the right person. Certainly, when they are the only equipment, they will not interest too many children.

Increasingly, spaces offer more than fun. In the corners, we can find equipment conducive to the development of children and education (manipulation boards, toys to develop motor skills, maps, globes, abacus, skill games). This solution became very popular, the mentioned equipment was observed in 41 corners. There are spaces dealing with the subject of ecology and safety, in which good patterns of behavior are communicated while spending time pleasantly (2 corners). Internauts, when asked about their opinions on the educational role, answered in the vast majority that the corners did not convey good models (i.e. 43.1% definitely not, 10.1% rather not), one of the people added that designing space in cooperation with specialists could affect positively on this fact [3].

Figure 8.

Education is not all that modern children’s corners offer. Some of them also feature zones of relaxation, tranquility or peaceful play (12 corners), and examples of permanent or temporary exhibitions dedicated to children were found, where original graphic designs complemented spatial play expositions (temporary traveling exhibition in a shopping mall – 1 corner).

A variety of themed games, attractive equipment, interesting graphics, unusual solutions, well-thought-out colors and combinations of materials affect not only the image of a service or commercial premises, but also the desire to have fun of the youngest. Offering remarkable activity will attract children and their guardians to the premises. Depending on the role of the interior, the corners can become a kind of marketing tool, a showcase of the premises, or help for carers during the necessary official visits, improving the work of staff. A child fascinated by a new object will allow you to complete formalities, eat a meal or do a quick shopping at a pharmacy. As many as 58.2% of respondents often take children to public places, such as offices, pharmacies, banks. The responses of the respondents showed that many people highly appreciate the presence of children’s corners in the premises:

Figure 9.

According to the representative of the company, which offers furnishings for the corners of the gallery manager, public spaces are no longer used only for purely consumption purposes. The creation of a zone for children is a “hand stretch” towards families, the desire to make their time more pleasant and relieve the caregivers. According to the respondent, spaces for children greatly increase the company’s image in the eyes of customers and enjoy longer and more frequent visits [4].

During the interview, the owner of one of the cafes in Warsaw justifies the growing need to allocate space for children in public places by changing the family model and by taking the children to business meetings more and more often [2].

The above fact is confirmed by the data collected in the online survey, respondents with children, when asked about the importance of the presence of corners when choosing a place, in the vast majority (70%) replied that they are more likely to choose a place with a corner. Completely different answers are provided by childless people, here the proportions are opposite [3].

The changing lifestyle makes children’s corners more and more popular and appreciated in everyday life, serving as a showcase for public premises. Children’s zones have both their supporters and opponents, but the majority of people asked for their opinions agree that the vast majority of the children’s corners known to them do not look attractive. In this context, the owners and managers of public buildings, when deciding to place children’s corners in their interiors, should take steps that will allow to create a space that is not only visually attractive, caring for the image of the premises, but above all, safe and adapted to the current needs of the youngest. To this end, they should: