Why do we, as adults, dictate how and where children can play? If children will play with whatever they are afforded with, why do we provide them opportunities for play that are so heavily influenced by adult intervention?
Playgrounds in this country are overly prescriptive. They tell children how to play rather than encouraging imaginative playfulness. Moreover, playgrounds are small, fenced-off-from-the-world sections of our cities. We should be considering children’s need for play throughout our entire urban environment.
'Affording Play', is a series of public furniture designs that considers the needs of children as users and provides them, as well as adults, with extended opportunities to play. The forms are purposefully ambiguous in order to support imaginative play. Some are movable, allowing the user to adapt the space to their needs.
Affording Play consists of a series of structures, manufactured using recycled plastics. Each one is its own separate entity, meaning that these structures can be placed in multiple configurations to provide the opportunity for play, no matter the size of the space.
'Swivl', the moving bench can be rotated to suit the needs of the user
A child playing with the structures
A child playing with the structures
A child playing with the structures
Bringing play into the consultation between the buyer and the designer
Research
User testing
User testing
Making prototypes
User testing