A Junkyard Ambulance Transforms Into a Play Structure for Sick Kids

Children who are frequent visitors to hospitals can have a difficult time remembering that childhood should include time to play. That’s why two Dutch designers, Luc van Hoeckel and Pim van Baarsen, transformed a children’s hospital parking lot into a playground.

The Beit Cure Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, is an orthopedic medical care facility that performs life-altering surgeries and physical therapy for kids in one of the most heavily populated but underserved countries in Africa. By offering them a playground on top of rehabilitative medical care, the staff can bring a sense of levity and peace to even their smallest patients.

Photo: Pim Van Baarsen