Playful Landscapes. Inclusive design strategies

In an era of unprecedented melting pots, in which cultural and social multiplicities coexist within increasingly ecologically and environmentally fragile contexts, contemporary landscape design requires new approaches and shifts in perspective in order to privilege inclusive participation in the regeneration processes of common spaces from the earliest stages of design. For Johan Huizniga, “playing” is the main foundation of any culture of social organisation and the tool by which homo ludens is able to transform and recreate the environment according to his needs. The game affects imagination, correlates heterogeneous and unseen expressions, revealing invisible links. Finally, playing activates empathy, by simulating processes of role playing and democracy: it becomes a place of exchange and negotiation, revealing new possible kinships between man and the environment. The article explores two different participatory approaches to landscape design through playful tactics, both bottom-up and implementable at different scales and contexts. The first approach, which we call Play in the landscape, is physical, experimental, hands-on; it manifests through playful practices on the territory that not only involve the community, but also make it an integral part of the project. This reflection is supported by the critical analysis of two emblematic case studies: Floating University by Raumlaborberlin in Berlin and Réinventons la Nation by Coloco in Paris. The second approach, which we call Play the landscape, turns planning processes in playful actions and enhances an understanding of landscape design tools, gamifying urban planning strategies into simple board game-like instruments, making them accessible to a wider public. Here, among the case studies we explore some board games, including “Relate from the Harvard Graduate School of Design”, in order to understand how, through playful participation, the community develops a deeper ecological and environmental awareness of caring for vital and inclusive spaces.