designers, manufacturers and installers
If you’re planning a new playground, expanding an existing one or replacing outdated equipment, you’re in the right place. We specialise in creating playgrounds, play structures, playscapes and site furnishings that inspire, engage and amaze children for a wide variety of organisations. We’re proud to be trusted designers, manufacturers and installers who combine creative flair with technical expertise.
Who we work with
Schools, Parks, Early Childhood Centers, Daycares, and Community Spaces
We partner with schools, parks, early childhood centers, daycares, and community spaces in local to create extraordinary playgrounds that motivate children to switch off from technology and reconnect with their own imaginations. From consultation to completion, we’re here to help you every step of the way. Whether you need something small and functional or bold and adventurous, our beautiful playground equipment is designed to suit every setting. Each playground is built using high-quality materials, with a strong emphasis on natural, sustainable design.
What is bespoke playground design?
Bespoke indoor playground design is the art of creating a completely unique, custom-built play environment within an interior space, tailored to specific physical constraints and user needs. It moves beyond modular play structures to integrate tailored themes—like enchanted forests or space stations—that fuel imaginative play, while utilizing soft, durable materials and safe, compliant designs. This approach maximizes available space, often vertically, to incorporate sensory elements, physical challenges, and imaginative scenarios, all specifically engineered for safety, inclusivity, and immersive engagement within an indoor setting..
We Need Consider:
- Space Constraints & Layout: The exact dimensions, ceiling height, column placement, and overall footprint of the indoor area to maximize play value without feeling cramped, often utilizing vertical space with mezzanines, crawl tunnels, and multi-level structures.
- Safety Surfaces & Materials: The critical selection of appropriate indoor safety surfaces (e.g., soft foam tiles, padded carpeting, vinyl mats) and non-toxic, durable materials for structures that can withstand constant use and are easy to clean and maintain.
- Theme Integration & Immersion: How to create a strong, immersive narrative (e.g., a castle, a spaceship, an enchanted forest) through custom graphics, sculptural elements, lighting, and sound to stimulate imaginative play within the enclosed space.
- Inclusive & Sensory Play: Intentional inclusion of elements for all abilities and senses, such as tactile panels, auditory features, quiet zones for overstimulated children, and ensuring physical accessibility throughout the layout with ramps and transfer points.
- Ventilation, Lighting & Acoustics: The quality of air circulation, the design of lighting (both functional and thematic to enhance mood), and the management of acoustics to control noise levels in a reverberant indoor setting.
- Flow & Sightlines: Creating clear pathways for children to move between activities and ensuring clear sightlines for caregivers and staff to supervise from various angles within the space.
- Durability & Maintenance: Specifying materials and construction methods that can endure high traffic and are easy to sanitize and repair, ensuring long-term hygiene and structural integrity.
Compliance with Indoor Standards: Adherence to specific safety standards (like ASTM or EN) as they apply to indoor installations, including fall heights, entrapment risks, and material flammability codes.
Benefits of Bespoke Design
1. Fosters Creativity & Imagination:
In an indoor environment, a bespoke design transcends simple play structures to create a fully immersive, thematic world. Unlike generic ball pits and slides, a bespoke design can tell a story—transforming the space into a futuristic spaceship, an enchanted castle, or a microscopic journey through the human body. This narrative approach stimulates imaginative, narrative-driven play where children create their own adventures rather than just repeating a prescribed physical activity. Custom elements like interactive light panels, sensory walls with unique textures, and thematic sculptural components encourage open-ended exploration and creative problem-solving, which is crucial for cognitive development within a controlled indoor setting.
2. Creates a Sense of Place:
A bespoke indoor playground is not just an activity center; it becomes a defining landmark for the facility it resides in (e.g., a restaurant, museum, airport, or family entertainment center). Its unique identity becomes a powerful marketing tool and a point of pride, giving families a specific reason to visit and return. By reflecting the brand or local community character (e.g., incorporating a local historical theme or company mascot), the design fosters a stronger emotional connection and sense of ownership among visitors. This distinctive “wow” factor ensures it stands out in a competitive market, making it a memorable destination rather than a forgettable stopgap.
3. Maximizes Play Value:
This is perhaps the most critical advantage for indoor spaces, where square footage is often limited and expensive. Bespoke design intentionally engineers every element to serve multiple play purposes, ensuring maximum developmental ROI per square foot. A single, custom-designed structure can seamlessly integrate:
- Physical Play: Climbing walls, slides, and crawl tunnels.
- Sensory Play: Elements with varied textures, sounds, and visual effects.
- Social & Imaginative Play: Thematic nooks, role-playing areas, and cooperative games.
- Cognitive Play: Puzzle panels, memory games, and cause-and-effect features.
4. Long-Term Durability & Safety:
Indoor commercial spaces demand exceptionally high standards for hygiene, safety, and wear-and-tear. Bespoke design addresses this by utilizing higher-quality, commercial-grade materials specifically chosen for the indoor environment. This includes:
- Durable Hardwoods and Plastics: Designed to withstand constant use.
- High-Density Foam and Soft Padding: Custom-molded to create safe, engaging shapes that also meet critical fall-height safety standards.
Easy-to-Clean, Non-Porous Surfaces: Antimicrobial fabrics and seamless structures that prevent dirt accumulation and simplify maintenance.
Because the design is engineered from the ground up for its specific location, it avoids the ill-fitting, potentially hazardous gaps and wear patterns that can occur with poorly configured off-the-shelf kits. This results in a safer environment, lower long-term maintenance costs, and a significantly longer lifespan for the investment.
Tons of Examples to Bespoke
Dream Catch Recreation Equipment Co., Ltd. is your go-to provider of indoor play structures and all things fun for Family Entertainment Centers (FECs). We have helped hundreds of businesses customize their play solutions.
As an industry leader we offer more than just a product, we offer to walk alongside you through the process and provide our wealth of knowledge on the industry and what it’s like to operate an FEC. We adhere to only the highest standards when it comes to quality and safety.
Bespoke vs. Customized vs. Off-the-Shelf
The choice between these three approaches fundamentally dictates the uniqueness, functionality, and commercial potential of an indoor play space.
1. Off-the-Shelf (Catalog Equipment):
This approach involves selecting pre-designed, mass-produced components from a manufacturer’s catalog (e.g., a standard slide, a generic ball pit, a common crawl tube) and arranging them within the space. For indoor facilities, this often results in a generic “play gym” feel that prioritizes function over form.
Indoor Application & Implications: The primary advantage is lower upfront cost and rapid installation. However, it offers zero thematic cohesion, making it difficult to create a memorable brand identity. The arrangement is often constrained by the fixed dimensions of the parts, leading to inefficient use of valuable floor space. Most critically, these structures can feel repetitive and fail to capture the imagination, limiting their long-term appeal and repeat business. They are a practical solution for a basic play area but not a strategic investment for a destination venue.
2. Customized (Modified Standard Components):
This middle ground starts with standard, off-the-shelf structures but allows for modifications to create a more unique environment. This includes custom color schemes, thematic graphic panels, logos, and the ability to link different standard elements in a unique configuration.
Indoor Application & Implications: Customization offers a significant upgrade in branding and thematic potential. A restaurant can incorporate its mascot and brand colors, or a play center can have a loose “jungle” or “space” theme through graphics and colors. It provides more flexibility in layout than purely off-the-shelf options, allowing for a better fit within an irregularly shaped room. It strikes a balance between cost-effectiveness and distinctiveness, offering a branded experience without the full investment of a completely bespoke project.
3. Bespoke / Custom-Built (Designed from Scratch):
This is a holistic, ground-up approach where the entire play environment is conceived, designed, and fabricated as a one-of-a-kind installation. Nothing is purchased from a standard catalog; every tunnel, platform, slide, and interactive element is designed specifically for that space.
Indoor Application & Implications: This is the architectural approach to play. Designers treat the entire room as a canvas, creating a fully immersive narrative experience (e.g., a multi-level pirate ship where every element tells part of the story). It allows for the maximum optimization of awkward indoor spaces—building around support columns, utilizing high ceilings with mezzanines, and creating flowing, efficient layouts that maximize play value per square foot. The materials are often superior and chosen for specific aesthetic and durability needs indoors. While it represents the highest initial investment, it creates an undeniable “wow” factor that becomes the core attraction, driving ticket sales, longer visit durations, and fierce customer loyalty. It transforms a play area from a utility into the main attraction itself.
How is Dream Catch truly custom and bespoke?
At Dream Catch Recreation Equipment Co., Ltd., we are always aware of the entertainment industry’s rapidly changing market. It’s no secret that times change and so do customers’ tastes. Attractions that were hot a few years back are now outdated. For this reason, whether we’re starting from scratch to develop a new venue or renovating an existing one, our trademark is to assist our clients in creating a singular design and brand for a family entertainment center that stands out from the rest.
