Woven Playground (《织光乐园》) was a temporary play installation by the Shenzhen studio Daxing Jizi Design at the West Bund Dream Center in Shanghai. Built for the launch of LEGO® World Play Day, it was on show from June 11 to July 27, 2025. Oversized brick modules were woven into an open lattice that children could run through, with LED light bands and jump pads that set off light and 8-bit sound. This article looks at the idea behind the work and what goes into building interactive installations like it.
This is an independent appreciation. Elite Fixtures did not design, fabricate or install Woven Playground, and is not affiliated with the LEGO Group. The work is by Daxing Jizi Design, and the photographs and drawings are courtesy of the studio.
At a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Work | Woven Playground (《织光乐园》), for LEGO® World Play Day |
| Studio | Daxing Jizi Design (大星吉子设计), Shenzhen. Lead designer: Xie Qiongzhi |
| Design team | Zeng Zhenwei, Chen Yingxiao, Zhang Xubin |
| Location | Gate M, West Bund Dream Center, Shanghai |
| On show | June 11 to July 27, 2025 (temporary) |
| Client | The LEGO Group |
| Structural consultant | AND office |
| Area | 126.36 m²; about 11.7 m long and 3.6 m high, per the studio's drawings |
| Features | Oversized brick modules, LED light bands, six jump-pad buttons, 8-bit sound |
| Photography | Zhang Chao and Tian Fangfang |
The idea: weaving a city for play
Xie Qiongzhi designed Woven Playground as part of her ongoing Weaving City series, which scales up the logic of textile weaving to the size of a city to soften its hard edges. Here the "threads" are rows of oversized brick modules, treated as 3D pixels, laid over and under each other into a lattice. The designer also points to Constant Nieuwenhuys's New Babylon, a utopian proposal for a city built around play.
The weave is deliberately open. Gaps between the modules, which the studio calls breathing gaps, let children walk in from any side, so there is no front door and no set route. A blue gradient runs through the whole structure, and bright contrasting colours mark the joints where bricks and light meet, so the piece reads clearly at night.
Jump, light, sound
Six round jump pads branch off the main structure. When a child jumps on one, the LED bands light up and an 8-bit sound clip plays. According to the studio, the height of the buttons, how they trigger and the safety radius around them were all set to children's bodies, so kids can play without an adult stepping in. The result is a piece that responds to the people using it, which is what keeps children coming back to it.
Building a temporary interactive installation
The studio has not published how the brick modules were made or who built them. From the fabrication side, a temporary interactive piece like this raises a familiar set of questions.
Modules that go up fast and come down clean
A seven-week installation in a busy plaza has to be built quickly, often overnight, and removed without damage to the site. That usually means a modular structure: a hidden frame, often in steel or aluminum, carrying repeated modules that bolt together, with ballast or temporary footings instead of permanent foundations.
Light and sensors are part of the structure
LED strips, wiring, sensors and speakers have to be planned into the modules from the start, with protected cable routes, weather-rated fittings and access panels for maintenance. On an interactive piece, a failed sensor means a dead button, so electronics need to be easy to reach and replace.
Built for crowds of children
Anything children climb and run through needs rounded edges, no finger traps, secure joints that can't be pulled apart, and surfaces with enough grip. The structural consultant's role here, in this case AND office, is to make sure the lattice stays stable under crowds and wind.
If you are commissioning an interactive or temporary installation
- Design for assembly and removal. Plan the modules, fixings and ballast so the piece can go up and come down without damaging the site.
- Plan the electronics with the structure. Cable routes, access panels and weather ratings should be in the first drawings.
- Size interactions to the users. Heights, forces and safety zones should be set for the people who will use it, which for play pieces means children.
- Think about the second life. Modular pieces can often be reused or re-sited after a temporary show.
Elite Fixtures fabricates interactive, playable and sculptural metal structures from designs supplied by artists and design studios. For another playable piece, see our article on The Urban Conga's playable art in Sarasota.
FAQ
What was Woven Playground?
Woven Playground was a temporary interactive play installation by Daxing Jizi Design at the West Bund Dream Center in Shanghai, on show from June 11 to July 27, 2025. Built for the launch of LEGO® World Play Day, it wove oversized brick modules into an open lattice with LED light bands and jump pads that triggered light and sound.
Who designed Woven Playground?
Woven Playground was designed by Daxing Jizi Design (大星吉子设计), a studio based in Shenzhen, China, led by designer Xie Qiongzhi with Zeng Zhenwei, Chen Yingxiao and Zhang Xubin. AND office was the structural consultant, and the client was the LEGO Group.
How did the interactive features of Woven Playground work?
Six round jump pads were set around Woven Playground. When a child jumped on one, the LED light bands woven through the structure lit up and an 8-bit sound clip played. The studio set the height, trigger action and safety radius of each pad for children, so they could play without adult help.
Is Woven Playground still in Shanghai?
No. Woven Playground was a temporary installation, shown at Gate M of the West Bund Dream Center in Shanghai from June 11 to July 27, 2025. Photographs and drawings of the work are published on gooood and by Daxing Jizi Design.
Sources
- LEGO World Play Day "Woven Playground" public art installation by Daxing Jizi Design, gooood
- Daxing Jizi Design on gooood
About this article
Elite Fixtures was not involved in creating Woven Playground and is not affiliated with the LEGO Group. We wrote this piece as an appreciation of the work and an explainer on the craft behind interactive installations. Photographs and drawings are courtesy of Daxing Jizi Design and are shown with permission.
Interested in working with Daxing Jizi Design? The studio's profile and contact details are on gooood. Elite Fixtures is a fabrication partner: we build work that artists and designers have already designed, and we don't create original artworks or make reproductions of existing ones. If you have your own concept for an interactive piece, talk to our team about fabrication.
