Melbourne house of cards just made for tumbling down

FROM a tree-like canopy to secret spots reachable only by crawling, children are exercising their imaginations in an adventureland made entirely out of cardboard.

ArtPlay Cardboard Play Spaces, designed and built by a team of 75 first-year Monash University architecture students, are intended to encourage children to engage with their creative sides.

Architecture lecturer and Fitzroy resident Ross Brewin said students had to cater to children’s tastes.

The playground is divided into four spaces, each designed with a different function in mind - reading, resting, listening and crafting.

“Hopefully it facilitates a certain level of learning for kids who play there,” he said.

Students were not allowed to use glue, so the cardboard is attached with 600 cabinet connectors and 150 cable ties. Mr Brewin said the project taught students that they could make extraordinary things out of ordinary materials.

ArtPlay Cardboard Play Spaces will be at ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, until July 7. Details: melbourne.