XISUI repurposes midcentury bus to design children's playground in beijing

"XISUI Design breathes new life into discarded infrastructure with this Old Beijing Bus, a public children's space on the streets of Changping District in Beijing. Set within Sanjiaodi Park, the project recycles the shell of a BK640, China's first domestically manufactured bus, into an occupiable structure embedded into the neighborhood fabric. The installation occupies the former site of a playground established in the 1980s."

"The team at XISUI Design sites its Old Beijing Bus in Sanjiaodi Park, a threshold in the city where historic routes intersect with the modern urban fabric. The broader renovation of the park organizes circulation, water features, and open ground into a sequence of public zones tied to local geography and history. Within this framework, XISUI was commissioned to design the children's area."

XISUI Design repurposes the shell of a BK640 into a child-scaled public playscape located in Sanjiaodi Park, Changping District, Beijing. The installation occupies the former site of a playground established in the 1980s and reads as a fragmentary bus form positioned between mature trees and the pedestrian edge. The design draws on the BK640's memory through proportion, profile, panels, openings, and surfaces rather than literal replication. The surrounding park renovation organizes circulation, water features, and open ground into connected public zones tied to local geography and history. The bus-themed playscape aligns with existing sidewalks and maintains continuity between the park and street life. The installation divides into front and rear activity zones, with the front addressing younger children through lower heights and closer spacing.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine