The Playground at my Hospital is an architecture project that aims to brighten the conditions of children inpatients suffering from cancer. Moneo Brock Studio has worked pro bono with Juegaterapia foundation. The project transforms the 800 m2 pre-existing rooftop at the 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid, Spain (where 7,000 children are hospitalized every year) into a playspace surrounded by ornamental trees and plants.
The design was inspired by the children’s drawings, which illustrated their ideal playspace. Thinking as children we realized that every element in the garden becomes a potential play element. We felt that the space had to be more than just a playspace – it had to feel unique for the children, their own, a secret place, a landscape able to empower their imagination, a place where they could dream, where their senses would delight in contact with nature. And, on top of that, it should bear no resemblance to the hospital, but instead create a variety of atmospheres through landscape design.
The project, which was completed and officially inaugurated in May 2015, enables the children inpatients to perform not just a physical activity, but to find entertainment, social interaction, evasion and joy, hopefully providing them with therapeutic benefits during treatment and recovery.