At Play in the Fields of the Bored - Reading Notes
Article “At Play in the Fields of the Bored” by John King
Important Quotes:
“But in a broader sense, it is emblematic of the kind of public space favored by American cities at the moment—meticulously designed and programmed, city owned but privately funded and maintained, with an ever-changing array of carefully curated experiences.”
“If they enrich public life in an era when the competition for resources is intense, they’re also oddly suited to an American culture in which the unknown is increasingly feared, and being aimless is the biggest sin of all.”
““Millennials are walkers and urbanists, and they’re looking for a place to go. They’ll create one if you give them the opportunity,” Biederman says.”
“Not everything in a park has to do something. People need space for their brain as well, their imagination, and their souls. We’re inexorably drawn to wanting to be unprogrammed and outdoors.”- Mart Margaret Jones
“A variation of this argument is popular with sociologists, urban designers, and cultural geographers who champion so-called Loose Space, a phrase that was the title of a 2007 collection of essays edited by Karen Franck and Quentin Stevens. In their introduction, Franck and Stevens stressed the importance of spaces within the public realm that “allow for the chance encounter, the spontaneous event, the enjoyment of diversity and the discovery of the unexpected.””
“Uses change over time, along with people’s desires for what they want to do,” Mary Margaret Jones points out. “Ultimately, you have to design a memorable space.”
“That’s fine when you’re trying to get from A to B. But what if one’s desire is to go astray? The physical experience of a park is enhanced when some things are left to chance. When your senses are heightened by the ephemeral sensation of smells and sounds and shifting layers of greens, and you slow down simply to take things in. “
“Laurie Olin told me that “the hardest thing to produce today in our society is calm. So many people are so connected, so plugged-in, so in need of stimulation.””
Interesting Keywords:
Programmed Park
Outdoor Reading Room
Loose Space
Look into:
New Orleans Crescent Park
SF Salesforce Transit Center Roof Park
Laurie Olin - Landscape Architecture Firm
Hargreaves Associates -Landscape Architecture Firm
OJB Landscape Architects
Thoughts on the article:
See highlighted the parts of the quotes that are the most intriguing to me. This article focuses on how Americans have become accustomed to having spaces where there are many things to do. How designers (or maybe more importantly, those who are in charge of commissions) are interested in entertaining visitors, or giving them something to do. I think this critique is very interesting.. How can we give our visitors freedom in a space to be who they are? To interact with that space however they choose? To allow for serendipity?
Im intrigued by Olin that the “hardest thing to produce in society today is calm”. I think Calm as it is used here is an expansive use of the word. Maybe “contemplative” or “thoughtful exchange” is a better word than “calm”. For me, “calm” implies an internal state, whereas I think Olin is talking about interacting and being in a space. I love the idea of designing for “thoughtful exchange”
Crescent Park - New Orleans
Salesforce Transit Center Roof Park - SF
Klyde Warren Park - Dallas