Title
Architecting play
Abstract
From the grotesque pavilions hidden in sixteenth century Italian gardens to the temporary structures in public space in the 70s and recent digitally augmented environments, architectures of play have long been designed to engage explorative experiences. The uncertainty of play allows us to probe new behaviors, to poke into the boundaries of subjectivity and to interact with people, things and systems in unexpected and unfamiliar ways. In this essay, we explore how an interactive system, situated in public space, may foster explorative activities and enable the transformative power of play. Through the analysis of several computer-augmented architectures, we examine what interactive qualities might enhance the transformative power of play. Beginning with the Fun Palace, an early attempt to use cybernetics in order to encourage visitors to experiment with their habits, we move to contemporary projects including some of the author’s own work. The latter takes the advantage of existing public locations in order to insert exploratory play into everyday life. Through analysis of these projects, we discuss whether such environments raise our responsibility toward others within our surroundings; whether they enable us to transform our own established behaviors; and whether they empower us to reclaim public space.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1007/s00146-010-0292-4
AI Soc.
Keywords
DocType
Volume
transformative power,public space,explorative experience,public location,interactive quality,play interaction responsive architecture physicality public behavior,own established behavior,interactive system,Architecting play,own work,explorative activity,exploratory play
Journal
26
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
2
1435-5655
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
3
1
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Karmen Franinovic1868.71