COMO Adventure Grove

Design and Realization: PLAYPOINT (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Year Built: 2020

More About COMO Adventure Grove

Manufacturer of playground equipment: Kompan

On 21st March 2021, the Singapore Botanic Gardens unveiled its newest extension, the Gallop Extension, of which the COMO Adventure Grove is a part of. Brought to life by playground specialist, Playpoint, the Grove is a nature-themed playground that allows children to experience nature through sensory play, such as sight, sounds, touch, and smell. By making their experience with nature a fun, adventurous, yet safe one, children will be able to learn to love and care for Mother Earth.

To fully realise this multi-sensory experience, the Grove was designed based on the concept of ‘biophilia’. Biophilic designs are meant to celebrate and show respect for nature by providing an enriching urban environment using direct or indirect elements of nature, and creating a human connection to the natural environment where the structure is situated.

The Banyan Tree Tower

Undoubtedly the main attraction of the Grove, this magnificent Tower was inspired by the Banyan tree. More than fourteen branches sprawl out from the central tower across a large sandpit, with play elements such as climbing ropes, swings, circular nets, and hammocks imbued into it. These elements allow children to partake in physical activity that will strengthen their body and mental fortitude.

To help the Tower meld seamlessly into the foliage of the Gardens, the structure was carefully texturised and hand-painted to mimic tree bark. Lush abundant greenery is also intertwined throughout the playscape, helping the Tower look like a natural part of the Gardens.

The Cempedak

Native to tropical Asia, and commonly known as the Jackfruit, the Cempedak’s thorny surface inspired this play feature in the Grove. When magnified and enlarged to a climbable degree, it offers an exciting and engaging challenge for children to scramble and clamber over.

The structure was painted according to the colours of the actual fruit, with different shades of brown and green used on each thorn to mimic the colour differentials found on the Cempedak itself.

The Saga Seeds

For many of Singapore’s older generation, collecting Saga seeds to use in art or as keepsakes form a large part of childhood nostalgia. To share some of that nostalgia, Saga seeds were brought to life through an obstacle course in the Grove.

Specially designed, gigantic Saga seeds provide colourful and springy seats for children to interact with. Placed over a sandy pit with other obstacle elements and surrounded by mock hilly terrain, children are welcome to hop over, balance on, and race through the course to their heart’s content.

The Natural and the Built – Coexisting in Harmony

Suitable for children of all ages to learn about, experience and connect with nature, the Grove is a biophilic wonderland that serves as concrete proof that urban spaces can embrace nature, draw energy from it, and give back to it.

Published on September 28, 2021