PlayLAB
What happens when architecture is designed as a big toy? Or a toy is so big that it becomes architecture?
Type: Individual Academic Work @USC School of Architecture
Date: 2017
Location: Los Angeles, CA
What happens when architecture is designed as a giant toy which can be easily changed or re-arranged? Or a toy is so big that it becomes architecture?
In this project, the pleasure of playing has been taking seriously. Playing becomes the primary goal while architects’ roles are not considered as seriously as in a conventional manner. The project then examines the discipline in a rigorous engagement or conversation with the field of architecture. The idea of playing is explored by an investigation of Constructivism theory, from a study on pre-school kids’ toys to an original-design modular toy, then the production of a furniture system, and in the last a giant yet monumental toy architecture.
Besides the multiple scale systems discussed here, various presentation mediums are utilized in showing the work, including computer-aided modeling, wood carpentry, 3D printing, foam casting, quantitative and qualitative drawings, and animation films.
The discussion of a giant toy as architecture in this phase has taken an imaginary dollhouse as the instance and continue investigating the symbolic meaning of an over-sized object within a human-scale environment. It becomes almost monumental, as a sign of imagery that implied a designated program that inherently draws attention, like a Campfire in the darkness. Simultaneously, the in-between spaces form other possible readings of the volume and lead to different program applications, such as Pit Fire and Cave. The former introduces a small group working area, and the latter defines a quiet or excluded place within the space.
