Project: ArrampicaMi
Author: Valeria Regis
A multifunctional urban structure that brings together play, environmental awareness, and public space activation.
Part playground, part urban landmark, and part ecological statement – encouraging exploration, physical movement, and curiosity.
ArrampicaMi is a climbable boulder pyramid for children aged 7–12, conceived as both a playful installation and a tool for urban awareness. Designed for public spaces—squares, schoolyards, and parks—it aims to reconnect children with the city’s green heritage through physical interaction.
The pyramid has three faces: two map green areas in Milan—Parco Industria Alfa Romeo and BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi—while the third explains the making of the climbing holds and the project’s broader meaning. The park faces translate landscapes into abstract maps, where holds reflect the distribution of trees and green spaces, turning environmental data into a tactile experience.
Climbing becomes a narrative act: children “grasp” fragments of the city’s green system, exploring and learning through movement.
The project also explores materials and fabrication, developing climbing holds in recycled fiber-reinforced polymer (rFRP). Using iterative prototyping and open-mold casting—via 3D-printed and silicone molds—it addresses challenges such as complex geometries and demolding, ultimately revealing the material’s structural and expressive potential.
As a small urban intervention, arrampicaMi activates overlooked spaces and fosters new interactions. It encourages curiosity about public green areas while demonstrating how design, material innovation, and environmental storytelling can come together.
