Swedish Students Showcase Designs for Children at ‘Play In Progress’ During Milan Design Week

Play is fundamental to a child's development, but what happens when they don't have access to proper playgrounds or stimulating environments? Students from the <a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/programmes-courses/design/child-culture-design-second-cycle/ma-level">HDK</a> master program <a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/programmes-courses/design/child-culture-design-second-cycle/ma-level">Child Culture Design</a> created an exhibit to explore new ways of bringing play into everyday objects to help foster imagination and creativity. Dubbed "<a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/nyheter/2012/hdk-plays-milan">Play In Progress</a>", the exhibit was one of our favorites at the <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/milan-furniture-fair">Salone Mobile</a>. See all the highlights ahead!

Designed by <a href="http://jessicaarosenius.wordpress.com/">Jessica Arosenius</a> for both adults and children to use together, the Block.210 is a cool coffee-table with a surface packed full of building blocks.

<a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/student/johanna-larsson">Johanna Larsson</a>'s cool table features transparent color plates that can be arranged and rearranged to create different tabletop scenes that push imaginative thinking.

At first look of <a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/student/si-cheng-0">Hide||show</a> appears to be nothing special, but just put a kid in front of one of these and you'll realize that there  is definitely something more to this cabinet. The cabinet features two pairs of handles -- one ordinary set for adults and a pint-sized set of hole-like handles for children. The variation indicates different accesses to function, and give children the feeling of exclusivity in their own world. <a rel="attachment wp-att-377224" href="http://inhabitat.com/?attachment_id=377224"></a>

<a href="http://www.linyunung.com/">Lin yu nung</a>'s Inside Out Lamp is a piece of furniture built to integrate the more refined world of adults with the playfulness of a child's. The design encourages children to scribble their artwork on the lampshade to make it beautiful and unique.

<a rel="attachment wp-att-377225" href="http://inhabitat.com/?attachment_id=377225"></a> Inspired by the game of "hide and seek", <a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/student/amanda-erixan">Behind the Curtain</a> blocks out part of a white curtain with color to create a secret space for a child to be alone in his/her world.

<a rel="attachment wp-att-377226" href="http://inhabitat.com/?attachment_id=377226"></a> The idea behind Playble came from <a href="http://helga.is/">Helga Bjorg</a>'s childhood memory of playing with her family's coffee table. Here she turns the table into a playful slide.

There is even a blackboard hidden beneath the table where children can share their secrets!

<a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/student/griet-boucique">Griet Boucique</a> has designed an 'Alternative Playground' – a landscape of soft seats –  that questions what is a ‘good’ play environment for a child? The design considers material usage, its impact on the environment, and how different textiles can the way a child engages in play.

Designed by <a href="http://cargocollective.com/portfoliogustafnygren">Gustaf Nygren</a>, Cloud is an art concept created for public places such as entrance halls and waiting rooms. By moving the rain-like string, both the light and sound begins to shift.

Designed by <a href="http://www.hdk.gu.se/en/nyheter/2012/hdk-plays-milan">Denis Drouet</a>, ORDER in CHAOS is a table that encourages play between children and adults. A jumble of colorful ropes under the table provides a hiding place and encourages kids to turn single strands of rope into different designs.