About
About

PLAYGROUNDS WITH AN ARTISTIC AND ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS

Our thematic playgrounds spark the imagination and inspire movement while gathering both kids and adults.

MONSTRUM was founded in 2003 by Ole Barslund Nielsen. Ole's background in art and scenography design in the theater world sparked the idea for a new kind of playground company. The catalyst for the creation of the company was a local kindergarten playground project. When the kindergarten that Ole’s five-year-old son, Sixten Gustav, attended was looking to source a new playground, Ole joined a parent committee tasked with planning the project.

 

“I realized that I could design a playground like a theater set design that gave better play possibilities than the known playground concepts. It became a really nice playground that the children and the teachers (and the parents) became very happy with. This playground led me to form MONSTRUM.“

– Ole Barslund Nielsen.

 

At MONSTRUM, our team of over 100 dedicated craftsmen, architects, and designers are all based at our workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark. We export playgrounds to countries all over the world and we are proud that the world has seen the quality of our work.

Ole Barslund Nielsen

OUR SOCIAL IMPACT

Many children around the world don't have access to basic necessities such as food or clean water and wake up each day in unimaginable hardship due to war, famine and poverty.

Our vision is to help the most vulnerable children and contribute our resources to those who need it the most. We achieve this by donating to global social initiatives and by actively supporting local charitable initiatives.

MONSTRUM are proud to allocate 10% of the company's annual profit each year to social impact work.

icon showing that MONSTRUM donates 10% of annual income

NATIONAL ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

CHARITY PROJECT 2024/25

In the beginning of 2025, we were able to donate 700.000 DKK of our annual profit from 2024 to the national annual fundraisier event "Danmarks Indsamling".

The projects this year will be targeted at the "silent disasters" that often escape the attention of the media and will broadly embrace children in need, including victims of war, persecution, famine and natural disasters.

A production team visited the MONSTRUM workshop to film a small feature with our CEO Ole - see it here.

A wooden heart for charity

MONSTRUM TOURS

CHARITY PROJECT 2023

In 2023, we built 5 tour buses and charging stations to donate to communities worldwide. We distributed the play structures in collaboration with charitable organisations such as Danish "SOS Børnebyerne" that work locally with some of the most vulnerable children in the world.

The small playground buses and charging stations are designed to be a fun getaway for children. It’s a place where they can let their imaginations run wild and embark on fun adventures with their friends.

The structures are designed to be easily manageable in places with limited resources - no structural foundation is required and the elements can be installed and maintained with ease by locals.

Charity busses in MONSTRUM production

NATIONAL ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

CHARITY PROJECT 2021 & 2022

In Denmark, the annual national fundraising event, 'Danmarks Indsamling', is a televised appeal night, and the funds raised go towards various relevant causes. In 2021 and 2022, the funds raised went towards helping children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the COVID-19 crisis has affected many people across the world, it is catastrophic in the world's poorest nations.

The money donated contributes to ensuring that vulnerable children can access clean water, go to school, and receive the necessary protection and medical care. MONSTRUM wanted to be a part of this important work and donated a percentage of our annual profit to this good cause.

danmarks indsamling - MONSTRUM

THE HOMELESS BUILD THEIR OWN HOMES

CHARITY PROJECT 2018-2019

Homelessness in Denmark is on the rise, and we wanted to address this issue not only through financial aid, but by creating a collaborative social space.

We invited four homeless individuals to our workshop where they - alongside our carpenters - designed and built their future homes in wood.

The four mobile homes - measuring only 3 x 6 meters - are ideal to place in passive city spaces due to their size and mobility. In this way, unused areas of the city can become flourishing, mobile local communities.

The project has been recognized with numerous awards, including the International Design Award with Gold and Bronze in the Architecture categories for "Mobile Homes" and "Conceptual Design", as well as the Aarhus Architecture Award 2018.

MONSTRUM projekt udenfor charity velgørenhed Homeless IDA award

OUTREACH TO LUSAKA

CHARITY PROJECT 2017

Ee collaborated with the organisations 'Plan Danmark' and 'African Direction' to support a development project in the slums of Lusaka in Zambia.

"In Lusaka, there is a need for safe havens and play spaces for children growing up in the slums. They require a space that is solely for them. The youth at Africa Directions Center will participate in workshops where they make democratic decisions on whether MONSTRUM's donations should be used for a building with play space, a soccer field, a workshop for girls only, or something completely different."
- Marie Hecht, Plan Danmark

The result was the construction of a netball court and the renovation of the surrounding walls. The center now serves over 500 children and young people aged between 4 and 25 years old, offering activities such as basketball, dance lessons, sewing classes, sexual education, contraception education, and business training. The center is the only safe haven for many of these children and young people, as the slums of Lusaka are not a safe place for them.

Lusaka charity project

MONSTRUM CULTURE

At MONSTRUM, we value experience, confidence, creativity, and responsibility, and strive to tackle challenges effectively - as a team.

Our people are our most valuable resource and we have built a strong community culture, which ensures smooth communication and collaboration between our design teams and our production teams. This strong company culture is something we highly value and are proud of.

We host five annual social gatherings for the MONSTRUM team - including a crayfish party in late summer and the traditional Danish "julefrokost" at the end of the year - where we take time to recognize and appreciate each other's and the company's accomplishments. These events are all about community and good old "hygge".

MONSTRUM team photo
Designer choosing colour samples at MONSTRUM office

AWARDS

 

GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2024
Special Mention - Lilidorei Play Village, The Alnwick Garden, England

 

GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2022
Special Mention - Surfer's Paradise, Helsingborg, Sweden

 

IDA INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD 2021
Winner - Bronze, Surfer's Paradise, Helsingborg, Sweden

 

GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2021
Winner - Gold, The Historical Playground, Viborg, Denmark

 

GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2021
Special Mention - The Colourful Peacock & The Hong Kong Skyline, Hong Kong

 

GAZELLE AWARD 2012-2018
7 years winner for fast-growing healthy business, Denmark

 

IDA INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD 2018
Winner - Mobile Home for Homeless, Charity project, Denmark

 

GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2018
Winner - Chunga Playground, Odense Zoo, Denmark

 

 

RED DOT DESIGN AWARD 2017
Winner - Chunga Playground, Odense Zoo, Denmark

 

IDA INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD 2017
Winner Category - Chunga Playground, Odense Zoo, Denmark

 

BEAUTIFUL PLACES COPENHAGEN 2013
Awarded by the City of Copenhagen for The Tower Playground in Fælledparken.

 

DANISH DESIGN AWARD 2012
Winner

 

AOK, THE CITY’S BEST CHILDREN'S EXPERIENCE, COPENHAGEN 2012
Winner

 

SWEDISH ARCHITECT’S PLAN PRIZE 2010, MALMÖ CITY
Winner, Spider Playground

 

THOUGHTS AND NEWS FROM MONSTRUM

Sketch of playground rocket