Playscapes: time and in-between space

This thesis argues the relevance of social spaces for play and free time. Age appropriate design and the design of social infrastructure are important to architecture and urban design. At an age where they are marginalised, disenfranchised, and vulnerable, the quality of the places teenagers hang out and spend free time is a highly important issue. Teenagers don’t readily take part in the activities of younger children and gravitate away from these spaces when they are ill-designed. What is often seen as insubordinate behavior and loitering, is merely a manifestation of their collective boredom. The thesis essay will discuss how teenagers are affected as a group. It explores how the nature of the space they occupy for free time infl uence the quality of their social experiences. The essay explores how programming can improve these spaces for the teenagers and how some spaces are more conducive to play, and attractive to teenagers. This benefi ts them socially and enriches the rest of society by their rejuvenating presence. My site is in Mitchelstown, a town of six thousand in the town proper, and a further population of twelve thousand in the immediate hinterland. Mitchelstown is about an hour’s drive from both Limerick and Cork cities, and situated on the Cork-Dublin road. Originally a planned georgian town built in the 18th century, the streets of the town have a distinctive fabric and density. Large plots of land the former property of the church, schools and other institutions surround this fabric, close to the town centre and the residential streets and estates. In terms of demographics, the types of social space in the town, and the predominance of the car in the town’s development the town is comparable to many towns in Rural Ireland. In the past Mitchelstown was known as the “home of good food”. The area is rich in industry and dairy production. The town produces all sorts of milk, cheese, and meat products. It was found that a more progressive motto or identity for the town would be the “home of good health” which keeps the tradition of food production in the town, while addressing health issues in the town. A fi fteen year strategy devised by a steering group in the town, with health professionals, the town council, members of the town leisure committee and a team from the University of Michigan, is to bring about these changes. The aim of my project is to create a play landscape for the benefi t of the young people of the town. The project encourages the movement towards a healthier town image. The site is located in key positions near the schools, and links to the main street. The project will consist of linear spaces, edges, and treatment for the interstitial spaces between important program elements. The surrounding context is industrial containers, institutional buildings or sheds of various sorts. Open space is readily available and can be easily manipulated in a way that is suitable and attractive to the teenagers.