Walter Van Beirendonck welcomes 'little strangers' to his play-gym in Belgium

Walter Van Beirendonck just can’t be pinned down. The provocative Antwerp fashion designer has applied his exuberant style to book illustration, scenography, furniture design and generally bringing a boyish levity to menswear. So his latest design project — an indoor playground for the C-mine creative campus in Genk — was less a matter of What?! than ‘What took him so long?’

Last weekend the postindustrial theme park launched Welcome Little Stranger in its Playground space, a new interactive soft-play for children ages four and up that showcases the work of artists and designers. The unique pairing of venue and talent pushes the boundaries of what a play space can be, spurring imagination, creative stimulation and, it announces, the wearing of two different socks.

Van Beirendonck’s signature colour and storybook forms are right at home in the room, which he’s dressed up in extraterrestrial motifs. ‘I wanted to design an environment that encourages children to use their own imagination, without screens or digital distractions,’ he says. ‘Welcome Little Stranger is about wonder, the joy of discovery, and playing together — without limits.’ He chose as a young collaborator the social designer Emma Ribbens, a student at the LUCA School of Arts campus at C-mine. Ribbens led a series of creative workshops and talks over the inaugural weekend. The space will host regular crafting and reading sessions, along with ‘calm’ sessions for sensitive children.

Located 50 miles east of Antwerp, C-mine inhabits a decommissioned mine where coal was discovered at the turn of the last century. Its industrial buildings have beeb repurposed by a team of curators who invite all types of play — in old mine tunnels, pit towers and a steel labyrinth designed by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. The project draws on insights from the 2016 book The Playground Project by Gabriela Burkhalter, which emphasises the lost art of play to activate creativity.