Koko approached the Children’s Aid Society Playground as an urban design project, and considered not only the play equipment, but also the entire courtyard and surrounding buildings within their design schematic. A parade of life-sized animal silhouettes marches on the walls next to the play area, starting with a duck and progressing in height to an elephant. Child-scaled storefronts and a water tower playhouse provide dramatic play features, and a mini racetrack allows for tricycle races through the courtyard.

The goal of the Imaginasium and Philip Coltoff Early Childhood Center was not only to create a safe space for active play, but as importantly to create a space that is truly fantastical and that encourages imaginative play. The Imaginasium was designed to be one part playground, one part museum, one part classroom. The first hint that something is astray is the miniature ”Alice in Wonderland” door at the end of the entry hallway. Once inside there is a two-storied cheese tower bathed in yellow light. The use of a photographed blue sky allows the Imaginasium to have good weather any day of the year in spite of the lack of natural light within the space.