After five years, the Eindhoven Broers (13) finally sees his dream come true: his self -made wheelchair slide is actually being built. The so -called Speelthijnbaan will have a place at the inclusive playground on Bolomeystraat in Eindhoven. “Cool,” he says. “I am happy for the children who are in a wheelchair.” The slide will be officially opened on July 18.
Thijn, who is not in a wheelchair himself, came up with the idea at the age of ninth. He wanted one slide Designs where children with a wheelchair can be independently and can slide safely off. With his design he won the Discoverfabriek design competition, came on TV at the Jeugdjournaal and Matthijs continues and was nominated for the Young Impact Awards and the National Children’s Fund. But a real slide? He didn’t come for a long time.
The municipality found the design too expensive in the first instance and had doubts about safety. But Thijn continued to stick to his plan. “Thijn did not give up,” says Lucas Rijnders, head of design & development at Boerplay from Nieuwendijk. “And we wanted to get started with him.”
Proud
BoerPlay, Thijns parents and a team of designers worked on a new, safe and playful version of his original idea. The adapted slide has a wide sliding gutter, an independent rise for wheelchairs, so that all children can play with it. “Our goal was to make the wheelchair part so fun that all children want it,” says Rijnders. “Only then is it really included.”
The municipality, which rejected the project earlier, tackled and made money available to make it possible. According to Thijn, his parents are ‘proud’ of him, now that it has succeeded. “Certainly, I am very proud,” his mother Esther confirms laughing.
The first parts of the slide are currently being placed. The playground comes ten minutes by bike from Thijns Huis. Yet he himself won’t often get rid of it. He lives a little too far away. “But for other children my age it is very nice.” Thijn does not go off so quickly. “But with skates.” The wheelchair slide is given the name Speelthijnbaan and his name will be on it.
Creativity
The young designer is now in SintLucas, the Vocational School for Creative-Technical Talent. For a sniffing internship he was allowed to join Boerplay, the company that is now building his slide. “The first day I designed playground equipment, visited the second day projects in Tilburg and the third day we went to a campsite where they will place a large playhouse.”
Yet his future may not be in play equipment, he says. “I like another profession. Interior construction. And I think it’s cool to design festival stages.” What does he like best about designing? “That you can get rid of your creativity. I can do that easiest in designs and have always liked drawing.”
Satisfying
Mother Esther is proud of the creativity of her son. “He was very creative from an early age. He is always thinking, I have a creative head next to me,” she laughs. Thijn is currently working on an outdoor kitchen for the garden. “He has already calculated it completely. Very nice to see that it is so good with it.”
The family is happy that the municipality of Eindhoven finally thought along. “A lot has happened in the background and there have been disappointments. But they have looked at the possibilities, we are grateful for that.” And also for all other stakeholders. For Thijn this is only the beginning. “Hopefully more assignments will follow,” says his mother.