Majid Al Futtaim Communities announces child-led design initiative
RGS Guildford Dubai pupils will work closely with the firm’s team of architects, designers and urban planners throughout the conceptualisation, design and planning process
A new child-led design initiative has been announced by Majid Al Futtaim Communities and is being undertaken in collaboration with the Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai (RGS). The Tilal Al Ghaf Playful Spaces project aims to develop innovative playgrounds created by children, for children, at its flagship community in Dubai, the firm said.
To create playgrounds that are child-centric by design, RGS Guildford Dubai pupils of all ages will work closely with Majid Al Futtaim Communities’ team of architects, designers and urban planners throughout the conceptualisation, design and planning process, said a statement from the firm, which is part of Majid Al Futtaim Properties.
The first phase of the collaboration, which is planned for early 2022, aims to capture ideas, develop concepts, and produce initial designs through a series of workshops with the school’s pupils that will be facilitated by design thinking experts. The output of these workshops will be assessed for feasibility prior to the final concepts and then design models will be presented to participating RGS Guildford Dubai pupils for feedback, the firm explained.
“The Tilal Al Ghaf Playful Spaces Project reinforces our delivery of sustainable communities built to deliver an exceptional lifestyle to everyone who lives, works and plays there. To be truly sustainable, however, communities must be inclusive – and yet children are rarely, if ever, consulted on urban planning or placemaking matters. By not involving the younger generation, we miss a valuable opportunity,” said Majid Al Futtaim Communities CEO Hawazen Esber.
The Playful Spaces Project is said to represent the next phase of consumer-centricity for Majid Al Futtaim Communities, leveraging inter-generational collaboration and child-led participatory design practices to deliver community spaces that are both inspirational and entirely fit for purpose.
Esber added, “If the Tilal Al Ghaf Project proves successful, potential exists for this to be applied as a model for Majid Al Futtaim Communities’ lifestyle destinations across the region.”
Craig Lamshed, founding principal, Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai added, “Harnessing and developing young people’s imagination and creative thinking is something that we are passionate about at RGSGD. The Playful Spaces project is a brilliant initiative that will give our pupils the chance to explore their own creativity, whilst having a direct impact on shaping their own community. We prepare our pupils to be future ready and I can’t think of a better initiative to be involved with, that is really thinking towards the future.”
Esber pointed out that by putting the play into placemaking and by looking at the world through the eyes of the child, we unlock the potential to reimagine our community spaces and reframe how every resident relates to the environment around us.
He concluded, “This needs to be a central element to how we build our future cities to ensure that nobody gets left behind. In addition to the tangible developed outcome, the Playful Spaces Project aims to give children a platform by which their voices can be heard and their contributions valued whilst helping to hone their design-thinking capabilities.”
