Inspiration Case 27: Design for Play

INSPIRATION CASE 27: DESIGN FOR PLAY General information Our inspiration case for a playful public space design is the Playbank, a multi-year game for Vauxhall’s residents which we proposed to The Missing Link competition organised by RIBA in Vauxhall, London.

While the word “bank” usually makes us think about how to manage our finances, Playbank encourages us to consider an even more important question: namely how to manage our time.

Inspiration & parameters for change

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a) Reclaiming community public space Thanks to a playful public space design project, inhabitants and community members can restore a broken relationship with their public space and reclaim it using the game as a tool of change. The idea of play extends far beyond the conventional notion of an activity primarily for children. Rather, it is an intergenerational activity which has the power to bring together the local community and serve as an icebreaker for a host of community- led activities in the public space. b) Unifying play and public space The goal of the project is to bring play to the heart of the community.

In a small but meaningful way, Playbank aims to tackle a wide variety of local challenges (unemployment, social deprivation, crime, antisocial behaviour…) by igniting a culture of play in Vauxhall. This is done through a grid of components comprising zones of play, zones of contemplation, zones of tolerance and connecting routes, all supported by community engagement.

INSPIRATION CASE 27: DESIGN FOR PLAY Our inspiring example: Playbank, Zones of free play. Vauxhall, London 2013 Vauxhall is at the heart of an area of huge opportunity in London and the idea of the competition was to make the most of it by showcasing urban design, landscape and place-making ideas.

As a first step, zones of free play will be created to allow for community- driven activities and experimentation, facilitated by a programme of community outreach and participatoryy placemaking. They are the ultimate manifestation of the Playbank ethos: places where the rules of play and the course of the game are not set in advance but collaboratively created..

All the zones will be strategically located in underused spaces. Established in a tunnel, in isolated corners, at the entrance of a park, in an empty lot next to an art gallery… so that areas that ignite play will become dynamic new locations and serve as a focal point for local communities.

What does it mean for the community?

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To build a culture of play and ensure maximum participation in zones of free play, it is essential to engage local residents from the outset. Vauxhall has an excitingly diverse community. The population is young; approximately 40% of residents originate from a nonwhite ethnic group; there is a distinct Portuguese and LGBT community; and the percentage of residents in social housing is high. Playbank aims to bring in tools and processes to bring together all these different groups and engineer a new type of ‘geo-psychological social contract’: i.e. how we relate and should be allowed to relate to the public space around us.

Playbank is a powerful way to support the regeneration of Vauxhall: low on investment, easy to get started, and drawing on the area’s untapped potential in terms of underused space, local history, and above all the dynamism and creativity of local residents.