New Playground for Brazilian Shopping Mall

Project: BarraCadabra Children's Park at BarraShopping Sul (Family Shopping Mall)
Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Client: Multiplan (one of the largest shopping mall groups in Brazil)

Project Budget: The entire project, including civil work, cost 15 million Brazilian Reals (approx. £3m)
Project Team: Oikotie (Percussion Play Representative) was responsible for the entire concept design and execution of the park (except civil work).
Project Goals: To encourage more visitors to the mall and create a unique shopping experience that will bring families back again and again.
Project Outcome: BarraCadabra park occupies a space of 2,500m² and includes four large zones or areas; Sensory Garden, Magic Valley, Adventure Area and Event Area.

Each ‘zone’ has been designed to offer different play ‘experiences’ for children from a few months to 13 years of age. In the Sensory Garden, children will have at their disposal play equipment to stimulate the senses, including the outdoor musical instruments which include; a Papilio, Diatonic Symphony Chimes and Large Babel Drum.

In the Magic Valley are ‘springers’ carved and shaped as animals as well as play houses with slides and bridges, seesaws, a little lake and a fountain.

The Adventure Area has trampolines, ropes, climbing equipment, swings and plenty of slides!

The Event Area will allow for meetings, shows or other activities to be held in the future.

Throughout the park are shade sails to decrease the intensity of the sun and water vaporizers to refresh visitors on hot days. Native and exotic plants such as jasmine, camellia, rosemary, thyme, lavender and cherry bring colour and lovely aromas. All four zones are equipped with a sound system.

BarraCadabra is free to enter and is open during the same hours as the mall. The park is prepared to receive up to 1,000 visitors a day and has a complete infrastructure, with a family bathroom, breastfeeding space, drinking fountains and food operations. To complete the experience, the park has added 1,000 LED lights to increase the available opening times as well as making the park look stunning at night.

About Oikotie Oikotie is a family-owned company founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 and a pioneer in Brazil in the architecture and design of children's leisure areas.