ABSTRACT
Play Ground explores public interiority by way of witnessing a child’s play over many years throughout her neighborhood in Berlin, Germany. For this case study, children’s play is not observed on the formal playground but rather along the public corridors of the city. For urban play beyond playground boundaries a synchronicity of cultural values, a child’s ability to navigate their built environment, and empowerment of the child to act independently within public spaces are required. Play along sidewalks, public plazas, and even subway lines involves bodily interaction with a built environment not designed for play. Through their intuitive improvisation, children actively seek ways to use concrete surfaces, metal fences, brick walls, puddles, and other found objects to suit their desires. Play empowers the child to enter a psychic space outside the “real world.” This is a state of deep play where the child’s engagement with the built world transcends physicality, allowing for feelings of interiority to emerge. The transformative essence of play within the city presents the possibility to consider play as a new typology of public interiority. Thus, the public interiority of a child’s play experience transforms the entire city into play ground.
