HÜS

Children engaging playhouse
designed for generations of play

Product Design, UX research
Lean Manufacturing, Business development

2019

The Challenge

Create a playhouse that is easy to assemble & store, engaging
and to last generations to be as sustainable as possible

90% Of Toys are Plastic*

From interviewing Dutch daycare
centers, I realised that plastic toys
often fail to develop a sense for
material for young children.
Furthermore plastic playhouses
last fewer years than their wooden
counter-parts.

Cheap comes at a cost.

Use of colors

Children make assumptions based on
colour easily. Single bright colour often
spells everything. Limiting the
possibilities for play. Therefore it was
important for HUS to be as neutral as
possible, yet customizable to enable
high-degrees of play

Sustainability

Materials aside - sustainability needs to
be addressed from all factors.
Shipping, longevity, material source,
manufacturing. HUS through its details
addresses them all.

Design Process

HUS shape and mechanism was inspired by the simplest form of a house usually drawn by children.
This geometry was iteratively shaped and adapted with each user-test and important detail mind.

Fit a Standard

Besides being flat-packable, HUS
dimensions were worked out to be as
efficient as possible while shipping &
storing and to fit on a single sheet for
less manufacturing waste.

A Hook of a mechanism

To engage children in the building, a simple
and safe hook mechanism was created to
allow for the playhouse to be effortlessly
put together and quickly stored away

Fun, fun, fun!

HUS prototype constantly moved between
3 families to get play-tested and details could
be ironed out. At the moment HUS fence and
HUS table customizations are in the works

HÜS