ZUZANA O‘NEIL

Outdoor Play Element

Product Design Studio

For your graduate work, you have created a playful element for the city’s outdoor spaces – one not intended for children, but rather teenagers whose needs, you believe, are neglected in public spaces. What free-time activities do current public spaces offer them, and how would you like to change that?
Public spaces for teenagers currently mostly consist of sports facilities that focus on performance, from football and basketball fields to skate parks and work-out spaces. Although exercise is very important, I wanted to expand the outdoor activities for this age group and give them the opportunity to develop social skills, too. They currently mostly hang out on benches, walls or public art installations, and I would like to give them a space that would be just for them.

What specific functions should your play element fulfill and how did you select them?
The game element was developed as part of a workshop I conducted with students from the High School in Bystrc. I tried to understand the students’ needs and concerns and together we defined the issues they had with public spaces around the school. The most common need was for outdoor dining and spending time with friends. The project is divided into several zones that can simultaneously be used for different activities. A few people will be having lunch, a larger group can be chatting, someone can be reading or sunbathing, and no one would be getting in anyone else’s way.

As part of your graduate defense, you negotiated the installation of this work in a public space in Bystrc. But it is paradoxical that it had to be fenced off for security reasons, stripping it of its original function. How strict are the rules that a designer must face? If you had produced the work “for real”, would you have done something differently or would you have left the structure as is?
Fencing was the last option I managed to negotiate with the municipal office. Even the sign “no entry” or “enter at your own risk” was not sufficient for them, so I had two options: either exhibit the object in the BUT premises (without public access, but without fencing and for the use of BUT students), or exhibit the object in the location determined by the students during the workshop (with fencing, but also for evaluation in the context of public space). I think the municipal office’s approach was understandable and their fears valid. 
Unfortunately, play elements are currently subject to excessively strict rules, and many designers have been long struggling with this problem. My play element is a prototype and a conversation starter. I did not intend to create a controversial design that would go against rules. In fact, I believe it would be possible to include a similar, equally participatory element in a certified company’s portfolio.

photo: Polina Davydenko