Architecture that affords play

Abstract

Play is a form of behavior common to all people. A person's propensity to play depends not only on his physiological and emotional state, but also on his surroundings. This thesis investigates environmental qualities condusive to play, and poses some ideas about how designers can provide opportunities for both active and fantasy play in places that we use on a regular basis. The thesis addresses the issue of 'what is play?' by establishing a working definition of play in terms of an individual player and his surroundings. This definition then serves as the basis for evaluating how a number of quite different environments afford play for their users. These observations provide the framework for developing some design parameters which an architect might use in designing places that afford play. The parameters are then applied to a short design exploration of how the main corridor at MIT might be redesigned to better afford play.