Echoes of Play
Playscapes...As canvas for open ended, unscripted art2023
Parsons School of Design
Individual Project
“Echoes of Play” transcends conventional design paradigms, exploring space’s emotional dimensions. Employing playfulness and circularity as guiding principles, it explores the influence of design on social dynamics, joy stimulation, and preservation of cultural identity.
Focused on revitalizing Westbeth, an affordable artists housing in New York, the project pays homage to its vibrant history by infusing elements of play into public spaces, rekindling community spirit and triggering memories.
The project employs an ad-hoc approach, creatively using familiar objects to bring joy to mundane activities, blurring boundaries between the city, its people, and Westbeth. Central themes such as improvisation, modular systems, thresholds, and layered identities converge, drawing inspiration from the concepts of joy and play. Delving into the memories of second-generation Westbethians, the project explores the potent impact of play and creative expression on intergenerational connections.
Utilizing a material catalogue derived through cataloguing, disassembly, and reassembly, familiar objects are re purposed into “Curios” of play and interaction.
Curios, strategically placed throughout the space, serve as points of interest and interaction and unscripted play. Incorporating sound and light for immersive wayfinding experiences that resonate with Westbeth’s nostalgia.
Ultimately, “Echoes of Play” aspires to create a multi-generational play space, transforming transition spaces into a theater of everyday life, where individuals become both spectators and performers.