ARPY KATRJIAN, MArch
Architecture of Play: Levels of Transformation
The avant-garde revolutionaries called the Situationist International used play to attack the monotony and functionality of the modern city of the late 1950s. Today, it could be argued that our physical city is far from monotonous. The line between play and its passive alternative, being entertainment, is blurred. Contemporary architecture uses ‘play’ to disguise its socio-economic agenda. While it appears to be playful and free, it promotes work and consumption.
Through research and design investigations, this thesis explores an architecture that actively takes part in the process of play. Architecture of Play introduces a speculative sequence of experiential spaces (levels) that transforms an individual from their every day to an escape. This will be achieved through various design rules, demonstrated in the thesis project. Each individual’s experience through the series is different and contributes to the ongoing discourse of work, play, and time.
Architecture of Play: Levels of Transformation
The avant-garde revolutionaries called the Situationist International used play to attack the monotony and functionality of the modern city of the late 1950s. Today, it could be argued that our physical city is far from monotonous. The line between play and its passive alternative, being entertainment, is blurred. Contemporary architecture uses ‘play’ to disguise its socio-economic agenda. While it appears to be playful and free, it promotes work and consumption.
Through research and design investigations, this thesis explores an architecture that actively takes part in the process of play. Architecture of Play introduces a speculative sequence of experiential spaces (levels) that transforms an individual from their every day to an escape. This will be achieved through various design rules, demonstrated in the thesis project. Each individual’s experience through the series is different and contributes to the ongoing discourse of work, play, and time.
Contemporary architecture uses ‘play’ to disguise its socio-economic agenda. While it appears to be playful and free, it promotes work and consumption.
