Paula’s Play Warehouse

In the heart of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, on Ben Gurion Boulevard, an abandoned kiosk stood unused, prompting the question of how it could be repurposed. Collaborating with Urban95 and the Community Administration, we envisioned a transformation focused on young children and their caregivers. The goal was clear: to create a space that offers the city’s youngest residents opportunities for free, unstructured play - fostering development while strengthening bonds between parents and children, and among children themselves. The choice of this location, centrally situated on Ben Gurion Boulevard, was inspired by London’s adventure playgrounds - accessible spaces designed to spark the imagination and encourage free play for toddlers and children.

This initiative aimed to bring spontaneous play opportunities to underutilized spaces. Strategically positioned between kindergartens and homes, the repurposed kiosk promotes walkability while providing a welcoming space where families can play and connect.

In July 2018, we launched “Paula’s Play Warehouse” (named after Paula Ben Gurion), a seasonal initiative that brought scrap materials into the public space to facilitate shared play between toddlers and their caregivers. To adapt the structure and space for this activity, we branded the location and invited residents to donate unused items, supporting sustainability and reuse. Among the objects we received were a printer, a toaster, a binder, a tennis racket, a wheel, a pot lid, and more. We adapted the space to make it comfortable and safe for extended use by installing shading, synthetic grass, beanbags for seating, and barriers, including a living fence, to separate the play area from the bike path. We also placed signage and other visual messages to educate caregivers about the importance of free play and imagination.

We found that Paula’s Play Warehouse met residents’ needs in an exceptional way and served the community effectively. It became a popular gathering spot for families to spend their afternoons on the way home from the many nearby kindergartens, offering an engaging, high-quality, flexible, and informal activity that supported toddlers’ development while providing a welcoming space for the adults accompanying them.

The community gatherings around the transformed public space, which became a play area for toddlers three afternoons a week, also created opportunities for additional activities and services. These included special events for young children and their caregivers, such as music and art activities - all centered on scrap materials and recycling. We also used the space to pilot mobile sandboxes, placing them near Paula’s Play warehouse. This allowed children to enjoy sand play within the broader context of a space designed to encourage free and immersive play. These sandboxes were later showcased at Rabin Square during the “Play in the Square” event and subsequently distributed across the city.

Partnering municipal units:
The Community, Culture, and Sports Administration; the City Beautification Department