The Folds | Atelier Scale

Winner of the Merit Awards in the 2020 WLA Awards in the Built Small category

The Folds is a small community playground (500m2) that mobilizes children’s perceptions with landform, it is designed with the notion of returning to the basics, through folding of spaces. We deliberately minimize the use of playground equipment. We believe that the folding landform can encourage children to perceive the space with their hands and feet. Children can run, climb, play Hide and Seek, and decide how to have fun by themselves. We hope that this space will not be bound by function or program, with less purpose and more instinct.

The folding gesture starts from a series of rolling lawn and later turns into folding bam-boo wood decks, with accent metal frames with nets. Surprises can be found through discovering caves under some of the folds. The sequence of space inspired us to explorethe possibility of a landscape with pure “space”, where the space returns to its essence: scale, elevation, atmosphere and texture. “Behaviour” naturally emerges in the interaction
between people and environment.


Located in a corner of the street, the Folds is part of the larger streetscape system in a mega residential development in Changzhou City, China.

The Folds

Office: Atelier Scale 
Design Team: Huicheng Zhong, Liyang Chen, Bingxing Lin, Hao Lan, Jiahui Liang, Zhigang Liu, Qimei Ling, Zhihua Chen, Wanlu Ye, Wenxin Deng, Zheyi Yuan, Zhengzheng Xiong 
Location: Changzhou, China 
Site Area: 0.2 Ha 
Client: Wuxi Vanke 

Photo Credit: Qingshan Wu

About Damian Holmes 3253 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/