From floating messageboards to musical benches: ideas for a more playable city
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Version 0 of 1. Cities may not always seem playful. But alleviating some of these day-to-day stresses is one of the ways we might benefit from injecting more fun into the urban landscape, using technology in a playful way to bring people together, enhance civic wellbeing and, well, have a laugh. The Playable City Award, which encourages projects that make our cities more engaging and fun, has just announced its latest shortlist. From musical pedestrian crossings to interactive public benches, the projects have been dreamed up by designers around the world. “The Playable City theme connects across cultures, geography and creative disciplines,” says Claire Reddington, the award’s executive producer. Last year’s winner was Shadowing, a project that enabled Bristol’s streetlights to record the shadows of those who walked underneath – and play them back to the next passerby. What do you think about the below projects? Which one should win? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at the Playable City site. The winner will be announced on 9 June. Urbanimals: wild apparitions Imagine if the mundane corners of our city were animated with visions of dolphins, rabbits and kangaroos ... That’s the thinking behind Urbanimals, a project by LAX laboratory for architectural experiments that encourages members of the public to engage with these animal apparitions, introducing some unexpected joy and play into what could otherwise be a routine commute through the city. Take a seat: friendly urban furniture Take a Seat by Swiss organisation Happy City Lab sees urban furniture taking on the role of social connector. With a system of sensors and LEDs installed, a public bench will shine and blink to attract people to sit down. Once they have, the bench “comes to life”, interacting with the person and inviting others to join in. The project aims to show how playful interventions can transform residents’ engagement with their city and each other. Whispering Clouds: messaging the city As a playful physical manifestation of the digital cloud, Tine Bech’s Whispering Clouds (main image) will encourage people to participate in public conversations. Two illuminated “clouds” will hang over a street, displaying and inviting messages from people who walk by. The project aims to reflect on our culture of sharing and the impact of cloud computing on our privacy. Supernatural: musical plants Kevin Walker and Yuri Suzuki want to “re-wild and re-wire” the city through their project, Supernatural. The interactive project transforms natural materials in Bristol – such as plants, soil and water – into “magical/musical instruments” at locations of historic interest in the city, discovered using an app of mapped locations, looped rhythm tracks and historical background information. Players can combine electronic tones with found sounds and bespoke beats to represent the history of each location. Lighting Conductor: illumination through movement Interactive installation Lighting Conductor, by Strange Thoughts, responds to the movements of passersby to create an orchestra of lights around them. With even a gentle movement aimed at a sensor, a person can send a pulse of light along a path and up a tree to fully illuminate it with an array of colours. Stronger movements make the pulse brighter and faster. Citizens are thus turned into conductors of their own light orchestra, participating in a new form of urban illumination. Why Sit When You Can Play: marimba benches Another project that reimagines the public bench with interactive technology, Why Sit When You Can Play by The Urban Conga hopes to bring people together through music and light. Colourful “marimba-like benches” placed in public spaces encourage passersby to play and learn music using LED and sensor technology. At night, each note of music triggers surrounding street lights to illuminate the city. Puffin Jam: playful pedestrian crossings The last of the shortlisted projects involves livening up otherwise dull pedestrian crossings. Puffin Jam, created by Swedish-based Unsworn Industries, allows people who are waiting to cross the road to play music and communicate with the person on the other side of the crossing. Thought of as a “public ice-breaker”, the project invites city dwellers to interact with their urban landscape and each other using sound. |