Lappset Launches Prime Collection With New Modular Roofs Walls Balconies And Play Elements

Featuring new modules for play elements, walls, roofs and balconies, as well as an expanded colour palette, the collection offers greater flexibility for designers and customers to create tailored play environments. The result is a wider range of customisation options built on proven, ready-for-play solutions.

“When you’re building a one-of-a-kind product, modularity can be a hindrance, because it is, by nature, repetitive. When something is really customised to a high degree, you may want to avoid repetition," says Tero Puotiniemi, senior concept designer at Lappset.

Nevertheless, when Lappset’s modularity know-how is used to “lay the foundation” of the novelty product in a thoughtful way, it can open up entirely new design possibilities.

“We are able to leverage modularity and build something unique from that,” Puotiniemi says, adding that the use of modular units also solves many of the challenges associated with safety and testing – since all Lappset modules are “fit for play”. This is where Prime comes in. The collection introduces new modules for roofs, walls, play panels, balconies and activity elements, as well as a completely new colour palette. In practice, this gives customers more opportunities to adapt a playground to a specific environment, user group or visual identity.

Signature look

Globally, the ultimate kind of customisation is referred to as bespoke, meaning, in essence, that the product is created from scratch to a specific customer’s unique needs and tastes, rather than being based on a pre-existing pattern or template. According to Puotiniemi, the bespoke market is steadily growing. “Many customers are looking for something that is made just for them – they want to make a statement or build a landmark, even.”

Having started as a concept designer at Lappset in 2003, Puotiniemi has learned to navigate between the standard product and the unique creation. In large degree, the work is about carrying out an artistic vision within a certain framework – while being mindful of the costs. “The sky is really the limit, since we can realise very imaginative and ambitious designs, but sometimes we have to think long and hard about the best way to proceed.”

Big playgrounds – packed with innovative features – are something that Lappset has enjoyed doing since the 1990s. Lappset started to really lean into the theme park business during the 2010s, collaborating with, for example, Lego and Peter Rabbit. Consequently, the company learned a lot about both indoor and outdoor theme parks and branded customer experience.

Finally, Lappset really hit a new gear around 2018: “We delivered a tiger structure to Ranua zoo in Finland and a lighthouse structure to France and truly kicked off a new phase in the design of large, tailored products.” Overall, the multi-talented customisation design team at Lappset comes up with around 1,400 new product designs each year – ranging from minor alterations to standard products to bigger and more challenging innovations. All these designs are included in the MyDesign service that Lappset provides for its clients.

Customising backed by volume

Ville Kemppainen, play product manager for Lappset, is convinced that customised products are very much the way of the future for the Arctic Circle playground maker. The company manufactures mass-customised products that are unique, with also bespoke deliveries available. Prime was designed with this in mind.

“Customisation is a clear focus area for us, since the customer is very interested in leaving their own mark in the product. Customisation – based on Prime modularisation – is the perfect way to achieve just that. The Prime playground collection introduces new modules for roofs, walls, play panels, balconies, and of course activity elements, as well as a completely new colour palette,” says Kemppainen.

Having travelled around the world for eight years catering to the needs of big theme parks, Kemppainen knows that the customer is looking to tell a story – and playground manufacturers need to be able to accommodate.

“The often-asked question is: we love the standard product, but can we change it up a bit?” Kemppainen says with a smile. The answer – especially with Prime – is often yes. According to Kemppainen, the customisation process normally runs smoothly, since the standard product is a platform that allows for the creation of a great many things.

“Sometimes you do have to work from scratch, but most design challenges can be solved using the existing product.” For Lappset, that is one of the key strengths of Smart Modularity: the same product logic that supports efficiency and consistency also gives designers and customers room to create something that feels distinctive and tailored.

No bridge too far

That’s not to say that there aren’t brave new frontiers for the designers to explore. Kemppainen recalls a case where a massive delivery to China included an impressive suspension bridge which ran into trouble in the testing phase. “We tested it to the max at the lab, and it collapsed. Then we went right back at it and made a suspension bridge that can withstand the weight of a car.”

The point of the story? Now that bridge is included in the MyDesign portfolio, as an example of Lappset pushing playground innovation beyond the ordinary. The company is committed to delivering solutions that stand the test of time – without ever compromising safety.

“We learn something from overcoming each challenge – and the customer gets the full benefit of this, since the new designs become available for all.” For Lappset, Prime represents one more step in this direction: using modular thinking not to limit creativity, but to support it in smarter and more scalable ways.