Page 66 - Designing Ways 267

ALL ABOUT
ART

A New Playscape in

Pittsburgh focuses
on Sparking

Communal
Connection

Pittsburgh, United States

ogether was created by The Urban
Conga to serve as a community
Ttable, a place for people to listen,
learn, and connect with one another
around the past, present, and future of
Highland Park in Pittsburgh, PA. The
project was created as part of a Pittsburgh
Art in the Parks initiative that begins to
activate Pittsburgh’s public parks in new
ways. The design was developed through
a series of participatory design workshops
with the Highland Park community
and surrounding areas, utilising play
methodologies such as gamification and
imaginative play to collect communal
stories, values, and feedback. This
communal dialogue was used to develop
every component within the design of the
work.
Together’s location - adjacent to the
Highland Park pool and Lake Carnegie
- was highlighted by the community as a
key area in the park that is often used by
different demographics participating in a
variety of activities that do not necessarily
engage with one another. This area of
the park has a long history of social
connection and division, being one of
the first integrated pools in Pittsburgh
in one of the most diversely used parks
in the city. The playscape is designed to
serve as a connector, not only between
the physical spaces, but among the people
utilising these spaces. It is designed as a
multifunctional landmark that uses its
open-ended play design to break down
social barriers and to begin to connect
people with each other and the park itself.
It becomes not just a visual destination,
but also a functional additive component
for the park, which becomes a communal
hub for social activity.

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