Co-Creating Playful Public Space, a Design Studio Analysis

• In Event: Hi-Tech, Low-Tech, Self-Tech: Tactics for the Production and Consumptions of Playful Social Public Spaces - I

Abstract

Although some could argue that bottom-up approaches have recently contributed to shape or reshape our cities, the hard fact is that some specific stakeholders remain liable for city space and public spaces particularly. Local authorities, planners, urban designers, architects and developers are still the principal decision-makers, regularly delivering places with a top-down process. Simultaneously, current students in architecture and planning are part of a generation that master technologies more than any precedent ones (1).
Within the context of a design studio, a particular creative pedagogical practice in architecture education, this research investigated how technology was embraced by generation Y students to enhance the quality of two existing public spaces on the Gold Coast (Australia) through gamification. Following a mixed-method approach that included questionnaire, observations and design results analysis, three main findings emerged. Firstly, although all the students were not equally technology savvy, they were definitively peer-oriented and project-oriented, thus actively engaging in co-creation. Secondly, the latest technologies and innovations were embraced from the start of the project, but various reasons downgraded the initial ambitions and final proposals. It clearly demonstrated that multiple barriers are still existing to enforce technologies. At last, this experience showed that technologies does raise ethical questions that cannot be ignored. The way the students responded might actually help to understand the future directions of science and technology studies, as well as city space.

Nusair, K.; Bilgihan, A.; Okumus, F.; and Cobanoglu, C. Generation Y travelers’ commitment to online social network websites. Tourism Management, 35 (2013), 13–22.

Authors

• Karine Dupre, Griffith University

• Ruwan Fernando, Griffith University