Submission 1

Panel

Brief

Site Drawings

Exploration Definitions

Models and form concepts

Dynamic defined

A suspended balloon like structure that plays on a child’s fascination of balloon, and allows them to intimately experience the familiar object in an exploded scale.

The sculpture like playground is intended to stretch and inflate as the occupancy levels increase. This enlarging would give an initially opaque material translucency as the material is thinned. With this, the form will slowly allow the movement within it to be translated to its exterior in the form of shadows, and finally visible movement through larger gaps in the perforated material. The form has the possibility to reveal unfolding hidden openings and internal structures as it inflates, to encourage users to work together to discover the complete form. 
It is a form that defined by the designs internal boundaries, but remains dynamic through its possibility to constantly change with the interaction of users.

Static undefined

Interactive triangular prisms | LED panels.

These triangular prisms were created to explore the notion of a static object which is by nature fixed and unchanging, seemingly lacking in creativity and activity assumed by a playground but once paired with an undefined element the object becomes interesting and interactive.

Each triangular prisms is made from solids with one LED panel face. These LED panels are interactive and respond to the surrounding environment, specifically sound. Pitch and volume can be translated into different luminosities and colours that are sprayed across the object that climbs up the wall and the ceiling. Although this object is static and out of reach for a hands on experience unlike the typical “playground”, it is still able to fully engage with it’s audience by responding to their other senses besides touch and stimulating also the eyes.

Undefined Solid

This object explores the basics of solids, a square tile with a solid mass and sprays them across a ground in a way which it creates an undefined negative space. The tiles are also anchored into the ground by a point on which it can swivel around to further iterate on an undefined space which tends to distort perception. This object was created to encourages creative output as the occupants move in and out of the spaces like a maze or a game of hide and seek.

Dynamic solid

This concept explores the use of irregular geometries to create a dynamic playing solid. Users may climb inside or outside of the structure that spans the site's 3 levels. Both the scale and the shape if individual elements change as users progress through the solid creating a sense of movement. The differing elements require users to carefully judge the next space or face that they move to in order to progress.

Static Solid

By definition, this concept is a fixed, unchanged, regular geometry that gives the the impression of solidity. Interactivity with the form's positive space is key in this design. Users perceptions of 'what is solid' is tested throughout the playground with many the interfaces having similar (but not the same) visual properties eg clear element, opaque element, cut-out element. Users are encouraged to climb up (and around) the truncated structure but receive only subtle visual cues as to where the next step/hold is.