Architecture for play?Last week I put together a research proposal suggesting that a ‘playscape’ was a physical and tangible setting for play (that could be designed by an architect).
Further investigation this week has forced me to redefine the notion of ‘playscape’ as a ‘temporal network of relationships between people, objects and places’. This is because although architecture can provide a ‘space to play’, children also need infrastructure in order to have ‘time to play’.
Objects and spaces only become ‘playscapes’ when they are animated by play. An architect can create a beautiful playground but if no one plays in it (for whatever reason) it can not be termed a ‘playscape’. Moreover, the subversive character of play makes it very hard to design for and anticipate, and thus architects and the built environment only play a partial (but interesting) role in facilitating play and the consequent creation ‘playscapes’.
It is my objective this year to explore the role that architects and the built environment has in the creation of ‘playscapes’ and what this reveals about how can we create ‘successful’ architecture that is ‘used’ and contributes to the community.
For the first part of year I will look at the pedagogic workshop or temporary playscape as a forum for exploring children’s attitudes to the construction of space, the benefits of haptic/ constructive play and to propose ‘playing’ or ‘playfulness’ as a model for the design process.
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