| Title | Playground |
| Year | 2006 |
| Location | Carcavelos, Portugal |
| Brief | Suburban occupation |
| Notes | Exhibited in the Centro Cultural de Cascais, as part of the “Cidade Dual” exhibition, 2006 |
Elimination of social and racial divisions through the creation of dividing walls and borders according to racial and social prejudice. In this project the Berlin wall is considered as the most effective built tool in the integration of multiple cultures and beliefs in central Europe – its construction was a necessary sacrifice in order that the act of its destruction could fulfill the greatest wave of self-powered social integration in European history. The creation of walled structures in Lisbon is intended as a shock treatment to a hypocritical society. The destruction of these structures is inherit in the project. A situation where the destruction and death of an architectural object is the premise and concept of the project itself.
¶ In a more globalized society there are only two possible outcomes: A land of increased understanding, respect for all creeds and nations, free from racism and prejudice. Or a land of increased protectiveness, fear of all foreign creeds and nations, fueled by racism and intolerance. The first possibility is an unrealizable utopia. It belongs in a different land. The second possibility, appears to be our legacy to all future generations. In this, the only final outcome is violence. Unfortunately it will also be their only exit and solution.
¶ Suburban development tends to follow the same strategies of the gold rush, military conquests, and civilian outpost settlements. The demarcation and appropriation of space with walled areas form a vital part in the physical and social development of the suburban city. Certain hidden and psychological walls however, form a much greater part in the racial and social segregation of suburbia.
¶ It is in suburban abandoned areas that the future of social relations takes shape. Within this future multiple religions will be followed, multiple languages will be spoken, multiple races will settle. This country and this city are not ready to accept foreign inputs. Multiple social and racial boundaries are being continuously erected; whether through official policies and institutions under the banner of protecting local interest, through discrimination in housing and employment, or through parents lobbying schools to reject gipsy children and other foreign elements. Meanwhile we label ourselves an open country, civilized, cosmopolitan, with a long history of inter racial and international relations. This ‘tolerable discrimination’ can only beget increased violence, racism, and ignorance. In the hope of fighting this tendency, a wall containing a series of isolated spaces is injected on the site. It acts as a mirror of a society we are creating; a warning to the future. A playground, so that the young parents of suburbia can train their children to follow in their footsteps.
“The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future.”
from, ‘Collected Sayings of Muad’Dib’, by the Princess Irulan.
¶ The proposal for the new playground of Quinta do Barão has neither doors nor openings from which one can enter or leave. Rather, its walls must be climbed through the steel connections that double as rungs. It is presumed that the space will accumulate the debris from the surrounding estates, providing the children with ample playing material. The wall is essentially a war of four spaces – albeit a war without winners or losers (an educational characteristic of this training camp). The faces of the soldiers of this new multiracial and cultural future are recorded through digital cameras and face-tracking technology. Their images are juxtaposed creating a morphed face emblematic of its mini-army, be it white, black, asian…
¶ It is clear that it’s in the parents’ interest for the racial and national armies not to meet; for their genes not to infect each other; for them not to touch each other. We are in the suburbs after all. The war that is played out is therefore seen through four screen-cubes projecting the faces of these perfect soldiers. The cubes act as a living mirror of the children that use these spaces. Representing their multiculturalism, or lack thereof.
¶ Four spaces, four screens: one mini-war of little soldiers. A mirror structure of the racist desires of suburbia.
¶ Rather than helping hide the suburban social walls and fragmentation, these are exposed. Rather than weaving a racial mesh that is being continuously cut, a space is designed following the inherent social wishes of the suburban population. We prepare for the future by creating a training camp for the next generation.
¶ This playground is hence about the elimination of social and racial divisions through the creation of dividing walls and borders according to racial and social prejudice. In this project the Berlin Wall is considered as the most effective built tool in the integration of multiple cultures and beliefs in central Europe – its construction a necessary sacrifice in order that the act of its destruction could fulfill the greatest wave of self-powered social integration in European history. The creation of walled structures in Lisbon is intended as a shock treatment to a hypocritical society. The destruction of these structures is inherit in the project. A situation where the destruction and death of an architectural project is the premise and concept upon which it is built.