Behind the design of Knattegatt

Behind the design in Knattegatt are 16 children’s culture designers with backgrounds in various fields such as architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, art, illustration, media, visual communication. As students of Child Culture Design at HDK-Valand – University of Art and Design, they were given the task of creating a play-filled surface for the museum’s youngest visitors. But how did they find the inspiration for the assignment and what did the process look like?

How did you find the inspiration?

– We started by spending time together on Köpstadssö (Kössö in colloquial speech), an island in the Gothenburg archipelago. There we drew inspiration from the Scandinavian coastline for the playroom’s color scheme. We then imagined an underwater world and what it would feel like to play there.

What did the process look like – from visions to spatial environment?

– It consisted mostly of material exploration and observations. We set up a room with life-sized prototypes and invited a group of children to let them interact. From that we developed the spatial design of the room.

Prototype building at another location

What challenges were there?

– The hardest part was probably working together for the first time as a team, while getting to know each other and each other’s creative processes.

How does it feel that Knattegatt will soon be inaugurated?

– It’s so exciting to see our design ideas come to life and to see children playing in the room!

Some of the students on site at the museum.

All students who were part of the project:
Sarah Alfarhan, Ranti Ekaputri, Işik Evirgen, Hasibe Beyza Kasapoglu, Joana Kielhorn, Chao Li, Zhuowen Ma, Uyanga Mainbayar, Nicoletta Minerdo, Teresa Neppi, Benjamin Neubauer, Patricia La Torre Ramirez, Daphne Sivetidis, Katherine Stark, Anne Nynke Terpstra and Ruby Walsh.