LILIDOREI
PLAY VILLAGE
WHERE:
The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland, England
CUSTOMER:
The Alnwick Garden Trust
Welcome to the mystical, magical, enchanting universe of Lilidorei!
Touted as the world's largest play structure of its kind - this unique playground is literally like nothing you've ever seen before! An elaborate network of linked bridges and gangways connect the 10 towers that compose Lord Elfwin's grand castle - Elfwin Drin. Lord of the 9 magical clans residing in Lilidorei, The castle is a breathtaking sight and an intriguing adventure for all ages. With tube slides longer and taller than you've probably ever seen, and a 24-meter-tall central tower, Lilidorei will challenge the bravest of souls, while simultaneously providing play for all ages and many abilities with its different levels and wide variety of play features.
The playground is designed to promote creativity and encourage kids to explore with its big Christmas trees, red festive hats, fun mushrooms, and more, which create an immersive, adventurous scene for kids to discover. In close collaboration with the Duchess of Northumberland, Jane Percy, we designed, built and installed the Elfwin Drin castle, where it's Christmas all year round!
WELCOME TO A WHIMSICAL WORLD OF PLAY
What a thrill to explore every nook and cranny!
Take a look up and take in the vast wonders of Lilidorei!
We are proud to have been recognized by the German Design Council and awarded a Special Mention in the category of Excellent Architecture - Urban Space and Infrastructure for the unique design of Lilidorei.
The world's largest play structure of its kind!
Jump up and bounce! There are fun play features for all ages.
AN ENCHANTED KINGDOM
THE DREAM OF A DUCHESS
The universe of Lilidorei had lived in the imagination of the Duchess of Northumberland, Jane Percy, for 12 years when she approached MONSTRUM with a big idea. We were intrigued from the outset and it's been quite the journey designing, building, and installing this one-of-a-kind structure.
With the mission of getting kids off their phones and exploring outdoors, the Lilidorei experience is designed to be completely immersive, awakening all the senses and capturing kids' imagination. Through the use of lights, sounds, and interactive play elements, children will be transported deep into the land of the 9 magical clans and forget all about their electronic devices!
Whether they're exploring the house of the goblins or taking in the enchanted fairy dwellings, kids will be thrilled and drawn in by this extravagant play universe.
CREATING OPPORTUNITY
The project is the latest addition to the 1,300-hectare estate surrounding Grade I-listed Alnwick Castle. The multi-award-winning Alnwick Garden receives around 360,000 visitors a year and the hope is to attract even more visitors to the Northumberland area, while also creating job opportunities for ex-military servicemen. Lilidorei has committed to being accessible for all by providing "Free Fridays" in school-term time so children of all backgrounds can come and experience the magic!
Climb up and explore more!
Spin with your friends on the giant mushroom!
JUMP IN TO THE ADVENTURE!
Kids can engage multiple senses here. These mushrooms make sounds when they jump on them!
The Duchess of Northumberland and some of the Story Keeper hosts at the opening of Lilidorei.
There are play features for all ages - the smaller kids love these rocking reindeer!
AT MONSTRUM
TRUCKS
INSTALLING
TUBE SLIDES
PLAY EQUIPMENT
BRIDGES
STRUCTURE
IN THE WORLD
RISKY PLAY CREATES HEALTHY, HAPPY KIDS
"Lilidorei...embodies everything that childhood is meant to be about."
Psychologist Emma Kenny and a group of local primary school children paid the Lilidorei site a visit during installation. Emma hosted a discussion with the children focused on play, being creative, and being outdoors.
"When children indulge in unstructured activities and allow their imaginations to run wild, research suggests they become more resilient and able to self-soothe and self-regulate their emotions, contributing to future success in life. Lilidorei is great/fantastic/astonishingly beautiful for kids because it embodies everything that childhood is meant to be about. It’s about testing fears, doing it in a safe environment but also never losing sight of the magic of childhood, because it’s fleeting, it’s momentary and it’s also so profoundly important - where divergent thinking, creativity and imagination is formed."
EMMA KENNY, PSYCHOLOGIST
MEET THE DESIGNER
"When we first met with The Duchess back in 2020 and she introduced us to the story of Elfwin Drin - King of Lilidorei, I was truly inspired and I thought to myself, Elfwin Drin’s castle must be all giant Christmas trees!
In short, the concept I imagined, was a world designed by elves and built by trolls. You should feel as if you are in a forest with houses carved into the tree trunks, suspension bridges connecting one treetop to the other, light sparkling from the roofs, and giant baubles hanging from the branches.
At Elfwin Drin's castle, you simply expect to see something magical that will blow your mind and is out of this world - taller and bigger than anything you have ever experienced before. A world ruled by Christmas. Some areas are more melancholic and mystical, others light and dreamy. A place where you can’t see the beginning or find the end."
TOMAS KNUDSEN, SENIOR DESIGNER
ONE-OF-A-KIND
PLAYGROUND
IN THE MAKING
In MONSTRUM's history, we've created our fair share of large-scale, unique playgrounds, however the vision of Lilidorei was like nothing we'd ever tackled before! Our team of skilled designers, engineers, carpenters and painters embraced every challenge head-on to complete this unprecedented playground design and construction.
After 15,030 accumulated hours of construction in our workshop, we were ready to send off 28 trucks loaded with the magical play elements that would become Elfwin Drin's castle at Lilidorei!
