PLA/Y/CE

According to the Self-Determination-Theory opportunities of customization drive engagement. When users are encouraged and in charge of their own spaces, they are more likely to engage with them and feel higher levels of motivation and responsibility towards it. Following this argument, there are a lot of places in Vienna where we see great potential to improve the usability of existing spaces. But how can we equip users with the mindset and tools to make a space fit their needs?

The project “pla/y/ce” can inspire curiosity and interaction in spaces, that are chronically underused and initiate a feeling of autonomy, that motivates people to co-create the spaces that surround them and become more involved in their communities.

For this, we draw from the digital design discipline to inform practices of physical place-making. Looking at the way, we are used to interacting with digital spaces and products, there is a lot to be learned for how we engage with our built environment. The mentality of claiming space and customizing it to one’s own needs is a strategy, that is, however, rarely put into practice in the existing cityscape. And for good reason: City architecture does not encourage us to appropriate the (over-)regulated spaces, that are presented to us as finished products. It leaves monotonous spaces in communities and neighborhoods that lack a sense of personal connection and collective ownership.

“pla/y/ce” uses digital design strategies of customization to develop a playful prototype based on a typical public bench that encourages users of the space to actively intervene in their immediate surroundings and temporarily co-shape it according to their individual interests and needs.