This Chinese schoolyard uses giant Lego blocks to let kids endlessly redesign their playground

"According to the companies, the design was deeply collaborative and student-driven-and it shows: Instead of the previous sad concrete playground there's now a bright orange-and-yellow shock-absorbent bouncy surface. On it, drawn in white, a 2-by-3 brick outline marks play areas, serving as a blueprint for students to arrange giant blue or white Lego pieces of different shapes in obstacle courses and any other structure they can imagine."

"The concept originated from students at Baoshan No. 2 who participated in a Lego China "Build the Change" workshop, where they used Lego bricks to design their ideal playground. Several student insights directly shaped the final architectural design, according to the company. "Children are our role models and creativity is their superpower," a Lego spokesperson told me. "They have an endless imagination and can think outside the box.""

Baoshan No. 2 Central Primary School in Shanghai, serving 1,400 students, received a new modular playground built by Nike and Lego. The previous concrete surface was replaced with a bright orange-and-yellow shock-absorbent bouncy surface painted with a 2-by-3 brick outline that functions as a blueprint. Students designed prototypes during a Lego Build the Change workshop, and OLA Shanghai translated those miniature designs into full-scale interlocking Lego-like modules. The giant pieces are easy to assemble, reconfigure, and store, allowing students to build obstacle courses and varied structures while fostering creativity and active play.

Read at Fast Company