Play Your Part
Root And Erect, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Gemma Keaney
Children’s play is essential for healthy development, building social bonds and nurturing creativity. Our multidisciplinary team—architecture (Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios), landscape and play design (Root And Erect), and adult play therapy (Gemma Keaney) —asks: what if high-density housing could be more joyful and playful for all, offering safe spaces where creative agency flourishes for residents of all ages?
Our game repositions playfulness at the heart of the design process. Building on Bob Hughes’ 16 child-focused play types, we've incorporated behaviours such as micro-play (everyday playful moments), observational play (people-watching), and meta-play (creative rulemaking), forming a new intergenerational play taxonomy.
Play Your Part! uses three card types: Play, Person, and Place. Extended play types are combined with diverse user groups—toddlers learning cause and effect, teenagers exploring identity, people living with disabilities seeking connection—and threshold spaces such as doorsteps, stairwells, courtyards, and balconies. Randomised selections create safe-to-fail scenarios that encourage empathy and creative risk-taking. Each participant, dealt one of each card, asks: “How could this type of play be part of this place for this person?”
The game prompts designers, developers, and residents to move beyond minimum design standards and restrictive behavioural and legislative codes, reimagining how playfulness, activity, and agency can shape daily life. Iteratively tested in live sessions, the prototype consistently generated unexpected, joyful solutions—reinterpreting everyday spaces to foster creativity, connection, and experimentation.
Team
Barbara Kaucky, Play and landscape design, Director, Root And Erect
Susanne Tutsch, Play and landscape design, Director, Root And Erect
Angus Stanley, Play and landscape design, Architectural Assistant, Root And Erect
Alfie Gurtler, Play and landscape design, Architectural Assistant, Root And Erect
Chris Allen, Partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Anna Rank, Creative Producer, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Luke Gilbert, Associate, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Chris Pitway, Associate, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Gemma Keaney, Adult Play Therapy