The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) announced yesterday that it will build a “children’s exploration pavilion” on the first and second floors of the podium of the Mong Son social rental housing estate, i.e., above the new Government Services Centre, located on the estate’s ground floor, that came into service last week, with the aim of inspiring children’s creativity and foster their inquisitiveness.
The bureau said yesterday that it expects to start designing the pavilion next year, aiming to complete the project in the fourth quarter of 2028. The two-floor facility will cover a gross area of 6,500 square metres. The pavilion is an indoor children’s playground featuring various types of innovative play facilities suitable for kids and adolescents of all ages.
The bureau made the announcement during a press conference at its headquarters in the city centre yesterday.
The new social rental housing estate built on the plot of the former CEM power station on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais (慕拉士大馬路) is known as Mong Son Building (望信樓).
The social housing estate comprising three blocks has two podium structures separate from each other, with Block 1 built on one podium, and Block 2 and Block 3 together on the other podium.
The new Government Services Centre, which came into operation on Monday last week, occupies the entire ground floor of the podium on which Block 2 and Block 3 are built.
The future children’s exploration pavilion announced yesterday will occupy the entire first and second floors of the podium for Block 2 and Block 3.
Yesterday’s press conference was attended by several IAM officials, where details of the bureau’s project to build the children’s exploration pavilion were presented by Leong Ho Teng, a public servant of the bureau’s Design Division.
Leong said that the bureau expects to start the design for the pavilion next year, adding that the bureau aims to launch a public tender in 2027 for its construction, which is slated to be completed in fourth quarter of 2028.
Leong said that the new pavilion aims to provide children and adolescents with an innovative, diversified and educational all-weather play space.
With an “exploratory play supermarket” as the design concept and through interactive play space with multiple themes and modules, Leong said, the pavilion aims to lead children to explore and learn freely.
According to Leong, the first floor will cover a total area of 3,000 square metres, to be divided into six major zones, with play facilities for children aged between 0 and 12. The six zones, Leong said, will comprise low-altitude adventure, rock-climbing and slide zone, mesh climbing, slide and obstacle challenge zone, activity and game zone for babies and toddlers, zone for workshops and multi-purpose rooms, zone for board game rooms and a toy library, and a rest area providing light meals, coffee and other drinks.
The second floor will cover a total area of 3,500 square metres, to be divided into five major zones, with play facilities for children aged between 6 and 18. The five zones, Leong said, will comprise a trampoline fun zone, zone for exploration rope course, recreational challenge zone, innovative recreational sports zone, and zone for board game activity rooms.
Leong also said that while the different play facilities in the pavilion will be for children and adolescents of all ages, from 0 to 18, the pavilion will put stronger emphasis on serving kids aged between 6 and 12.
Leong Ho Teng from the Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IAM) Design Division (right) speaks during yesterday’s press conference at the bureau’s headquarters about the future children’s exploration pavilion, as other IAM officials, including IAM Administrative Committee member Tam Wai Fong (centre), look on.
A female senior citizen walks across a pelican crossing outside the new Government Services Centre on Avenida de Venceslau de Morais yesterday. – Photos: Tony Wong
This IAM poster in Portuguese released yesterday shows example photos of play facilities to be set up in the future children’s exploration pavilion.
