Yalla!Play! is a project initiated by Kobe Lootens, Lisa Mattys, Jessica Pipyn en Meow collective and funded by the VGC in the framework of Playcation 2024.

In the spring of 2024, Yalla!Play! was founded with the sole purpose of starting the first durable construction playground in Brussels. After some months of research, our team found a first test site for the project in Parc West: a vast brownfield that is waiting for its rehabilitation into a green and lively urban park. Until then, Toestand vzw is managing the site and testing different functions to activate it and create new connections with the neighbourhood. In this light, Yalla!Play! would test the challenges and opportunities a construction playground could pose in this context.

The philosophy behind construction playgrounds is based on the values of free play: within a well determined space, children of all ages can create their own world, test their limits and learn from each other while building structures with the occasional help of play-workers. As children are invited to build theirselves without pre-defined plans, we reduced our role to providing the bare necessary for the playground to function: we constructed a shelter, provided power-tools and utensils, searched for recuperated raw construction-materials and created a workbench where children can learn the basic principles needed to build.

During the summer months, play-workers were present to keep an eye out while the children built and help whenever needed. Over time, a small city of installations, self-made shelters and newly-invented games filled up a small section of Parc West, proudly taken over by young builders from the neighbourhood.