New Playground Refreshes Historic Fountain In Mexico City

Architecture studio, PALMA, turned a fountain in Mexico City into an urban playground. They proposed a plywood spiral with netting that playfully encloses the historic monument, in a competition as their interpretation of  an “urban toy”.

With almost 9 million inhabitants, Mexico’s capital is a crowded place where space for children to play is lacking. Laboratorio para la Ciudad hosted a competition to transform underused space in the city center into child-friendly environments to explore urban life. PALMA architects won with their proposal for Plaza Loreto, which is now an active space for children and adults to play around a historic fountain.

The playground offers many ways to be active in a safe environment. With benches situated around the square, parents can easily keep an eye on their youngsters while they explore the revitalized space. Though the installation will only be temporary, PALMA’s design is a refreshing new interpretation of a playground and highlights the transformation placemaking can offer in cities around the world.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in the initiative POOL IS COOL that recently transformed a public fountain in Brussels into a public swimming pool.