The biggest ball run of Brussel
What happens when we start building together?
At Studio Ludiek, we believe that the most exciting play spaces don't simply appear. They emerge when people come together to create them.
For Playcation Brussels and GC De Zeyp, we designed and built a modular marble run that transformed the public space into one giant playground. With tubes, gutters, ropes and the city itself as a playground, a parcours grew through the space, constantly changing as people added, tested and adapted it.
Children and adults were invited to build, experiment and play together. Everyone could contribute: adding a new piece, changing the route, testing a construction or simply discovering where a marble might roll next.
Every participant brought a new idea, solution or unexpected turn. A bench became a starting point, a tree became part of the parcours, and the public space became a place for encounters and shared play. Building became a game in itself, with collaboration, experimentation and imagination at its core.
For us, the project was about more than a marble run. It was an exploration of how play can change the way we experience public space. What happens when we stop seeing a city only as a place to move through, and start seeing it as a place to play?
The marble run was never really finished
By inviting people of different ages to build together, the project created a temporary sense of shared ownership. The marble run belonged to everyone who contributed to it. There was no single right way to play and no fixed endpoint — only room to experiment, collaborate and see what could happen next.
The project showed how a simple object can become a catalyst for interaction: a reason to stop, to look, to try something together and to connect with the people and space around us.
Because perhaps the most exciting playground is the one we build together.
Team: Aude Van Brandt, Juul Prinsen, Jeanne Ribbens, Emma Ribbens and Falke Schiltz
Project subsidie
De Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (VGC) Playcation
Partner
GC De Zeyp
Location
Brussel, Belgium
Date
2026