Creating Adventurous Places (CAP.Co), the adventure play specialist, has shared details of a recent project at Parc Sainte Croix, a 120-hectare nature reserve in Moselle, France.
The firm has developed a new play area which inspires curiosity and discovery. Neo’s Homestead, or ‘Le Monde de Néo’, launched in 2024 and is part of the park’s ‘Le Voyage de Néo’ world.
This accessible destination offers creative and colourful play, complete with an observatory, Energy Tower which highlights green energy production, and a display of photography by Kev Foster. At its centre sits Neo’s Home, a quirky, amazing structure designed to look like Neo built it himself, and inspired by architecture from all over the world.
Adventures & imagination
Parc Sainte-Croix has been safeguarding and championing native European fauna for more than four decades. It is home to 1,500 animals representing 130 species which live in thoughtfully designed habitats across five unique zones.
The park’s story features Neo, a little kid from the Moselle countryside who lives at the attraction. He is an adventurer who is also deeply interested in the local wildlife. Neo travels to the far reaches of the earth to meet and learn about the most endangered and protected species. He then returns home to share his experiences at the park, promoting children’s understanding of the importance of biodiversity conservation, sustainability, and imagination.
The existing Le Voyage de Néo area transports visitors to different countries, introducing them to exotic places and iconic species such as Madagascan lemurs and Himalayan red pandas. Visitors take a trip in a dugout canoe, climb through tree houses, hear the wise words of a story-telling baobab, master the maze, and then scramble through an insect crater to finish the adventure.
Detailed design
CAP.Co was appointed to bring Neo’s Homestead to life, creating a destination to serve as both an introduction to Neo and a foundation for his travels throughout the world.
This new area provides structure for the entire Le Voyage de Néo area. It serves as both an entrance and a finale to Neo’s world and his adventure, as well as fitting within the narrative loop.
It is located in an area available to all visitors and was designed to be fully inclusive. It aims to immerse visitors in a creative and vibrant story with an element of craziness. In this, the recovery and recycling of gathered artefacts from all over the world is essential to the design and the story that weaves through it.
“There is loads to play in, on and under, with tricks of the light and stunning ‘stained glass’ to add layer upon layer of detail.,” says a spokesperson from CAP.Co. “There’s integrated water play that allows some of the really crazy detailing to come to life and keep things cool on a hot sunny day.”
The early sketches show how the concepts began to develop and the designs began to emerge. Many twists, turns, and layered features were added to create a picture of elements and ideas collected from all around the world. The destination’s three main structures, Neo’s Home, the Energy Tower, and the Observatory, emerged from this initial design process and helped to represent his desire for exploration and discovery.
A spokesperson from CAP.Co adds: “From sketches through to detail design and CGI’s, the process was a real collaboration with the park and those that know it best, with the final development a culmination of this, producing a truly unique experience, that is rooted in it’s place.”
Last year, CAP.Co revealed details of the Wagon Woods outdoor adventure playground at Hopetown Darlington, a new visitor attraction in north-east England.
