{"id":626818,"date":"2026-08-08T09:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/626818\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:16:17","slug":"luca-boscardin-on-play-cities-and-designing-for-curiosity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/626818\/","title":{"rendered":"luca boscardin on play, cities, and designing for curiosity"},"content":{"rendered":"

luca boscardin discusses how play shapes cities and learning<\/p>\n

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Luca Boscardin doesn\u2019t believe play belongs only to childhood. Across toys, playgrounds, books, and public installations, his work explores play as a way of thinking that invites curiosity. Whether through Archiville, a cardboard city with no instructions, or Animal Factory, his growing family of abstract animal structures produced by Magis<\/strong><\/a>, Boscardin creates open-ended objects that leave room for interpretation.<\/p>\n

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After studying architecture in Venice before moving into graphic design, Boscardin gradually realized that what interested him was creating the conditions for imagination to flourish. Today, alongside his work as a designer, illustrator, and educator, he collaborates with institutions including Palazzo Grassi<\/strong><\/a>, La Triennale<\/a><\/strong>, Arte Sella<\/a><\/strong>, and Museo Pecci while continuing to explore how playful design can reshape everything from public space to education.<\/p>\n

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In conversation<\/strong><\/a> with designboom, Boscardin reflects on why play is more than entertainment \u2014 it is a language through which we discover ourselves, connect with others, and imagine different ways of living together.<\/p>\n

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all images courtesy of Luca Boscardin<\/p>\n

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FROM BUILDINGS TO IMAGINATION<\/p>\n

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Luca Boscardin\u2019s path into toy design began with architecture, where he believed he could combine his love of drawing with design. \u2018I first studied architecture in Venice. I chose it because I loved drawing, and I thought architecture would be the perfect place to combine creativity with design. In many ways, it was. It taught me that every project, whether it\u2019s a building, a product or a graphic identity, begins with the same process: observing, questioning, testing and refining,\u2019 he tells designboom.<\/strong> \u2018I admired it, yet I struggled to find my own voice within it. I then moved to study graphic design, hoping to get closer to the kind of work I wanted to do. There, too, I learned a great deal, but I often felt constrained by the precision of grids and layouts.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Looking back, the toy designer and illustrator<\/strong><\/a> sees one of his earliest projects as the moment everything clicked. Archiville, his cardboard city made of interlocking buildings, streets, trees, and public spaces, contains no instructions and no correct solution. Houses can stack on top of one another, trees can grow from rooftops, and streets can become parks. Every city is different because every child approaches it differently. Watching children build these imaginary worlds transformed his understanding of design. \u2018That project marked a turning point for me. I realized I wasn\u2019t interested in designing objects that tell people what to do. I wanted to create objects that invite interpretation, leave room for imagination, and allow every child to invent their own way of playing,\u2019 the designer shares.<\/strong> \u2018Since then, play has become not just the subject of my work, but the design language through which I explore creativity, relationships and the way we experience the world.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Animal Factory uses abstract animal forms to encourage multiple interpretations<\/p>\n

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THE POWER OF OPEN-ENDED PLAY<\/p>\n

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For Boscardin, the most successful play environments encourage possibility.\u2018The best playful environments don\u2019t tell you how to play\u2014they make you feel that you can,\u2019 he notes. <\/strong>The designer believes playful environments should consist of open-ended structures and materials that children can interpret however they choose. \u2018Every child arrives with different interests, abilities and ideas, and a playful environment should be able to welcome all of them.\u2019 Without instructions, children begin inventing their own rules, negotiating with one another, collaborating, and discovering unexpected possibilities. \u2018That\u2019s when play becomes most meaningful. It encourages creativity, but it also creates opportunities for interaction, because children negotiate, collaborate and learn from one another as they play,\u2019 the designer explains. <\/strong>Freedom, however, only exists when people feel secure enough to explore. \u2018A playful environment should provide a sense of security without becoming restrictive. When children and adults feel comfortable, they are more willing to explore, take small risks, experiment and surprise themselves.\u2019<\/p>\n

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a minimal steel structure can become a playground, meeting point, or everyday object<\/p>\n

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WHY PLAY DOESN\u2019T END WITH CHILDHOOD<\/p>\n

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Although Luca Boscardin designs primarily for children, he doesn\u2019t see play as something we outgrow.<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think play belongs to a particular age. It\u2019s a mindset,\u2019 he tells us. <\/strong>Children naturally improvise, reinterpret objects, and invent new possibilities, but adults often lose touch with those instincts as routines and expectations take over everyday life. \u2018I don\u2019t believe we lose our capacity to play as we grow older. It\u2019s still there, but our lives become increasingly shaped by efficiency, routines and expectations. We spend less time exploring without a purpose, making mistakes, or doing something simply because we\u2019re curious about what might happen,\u2019 the designer highlights. <\/strong>For Boscardin, play is valuable precisely because it resists certainty. \u2018Play is the opposite of certainty, and I truly think it\u2019s valuable at any age. It encourages us to remain open, to experiment, and to see familiar things from unexpected perspectives,\u2019 Perhaps, he suggests, the challenge isn\u2019t relearning how to play. \u2018Perhaps the challenge isn\u2019t learning how to play again, but giving ourselves permission\u2014and creating environments\u2014that make play feel possible,\u2019 he adds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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play structures become part of everyday public space<\/p>\n

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WHEN FUNCTION MEANS POSSIBILITY<\/p>\n

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Whether designing a toy, a chair, or a public installation, Boscardin begins every project in much the same way: by observing, researching, sketching, testing, and refining. What changes is the definition of function itself. \u2018Play is itself a function,\u2019 the designer says.<\/strong> \u2018The function of play is not to produce a result, but to produce possibilities.\u2019 Unlike furniture, whose success depends on fulfilling a specific purpose, toys succeed by remaining open to interpretation. \u2018A chair is successful when it fulfils a very specific purpose. A toy, on the other hand, is successful when it can be interpreted in many different ways. Its function isn\u2019t to guide the user towards a single outcome, but to invite exploration, imagination and surprise,\u2019 he continues.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This thinking extends to materials as well. Boscardin considers not only how something looks, but how it feels in the hand, the sound it makes when dropped, whether it can be stacked, squeezed, or explored through touch. He believes the object is only half complete until someone begins interacting with it. \u2018I like to think that I design objects that need the magic of play to come alive. Without someone imagining, exploring and interacting with them, they are simply unfinished. It is play that completes the design.\u2019<\/p>\n

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the giraffe preserves the proportions of the animal while remaining intentionally abstract<\/p>\n

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rethinking cities through play<\/p>\n

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Luca Boscardin sees the same philosophy extending beyond toys into public space. \u2018Public spaces shouldn\u2019t only be designed to move people efficiently from one place to another. They should also invite people to stay, to meet, to observe, to play, to rest, to invent,\u2019 he reflects. <\/strong>His Animal Factory project reflects this thinking through minimalist animal forms that become playgrounds, meeting places, workout equipment, or bicycle racks depending on how people choose to engage with them. At the same time, Boscardin argues that playful cities require more than playgrounds \u2014 they require trust. \u2018As adults, we often feel the need to supervise, direct and control children\u2019s every movement. But giving them the freedom to explore, make decisions and take small risks is an essential part of growing up. Design can support that by creating environments that feel both adventurous and safe,\u2019 the designer points out. <\/strong>While speaking with designboom from Amsterdam, where he lived for fourteen years before returning to Italy, he reflects on how differently children experience the city. \u2018Every time I return, I\u2019m reminded how much this city is designed around people rather than cars. It\u2019s not just something I notice as a designer\u2014it\u2019s something my children constantly point out. They love moving around by bike, discovering playgrounds with sand and water, and feeling free to explore.\u2019<\/p>\n

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One recent afternoon stayed with him. \u2018A few days ago, I was sitting in a caf\u00e9 with friends while our children played together in the sand nearby. We could talk, they could play independently, and everyone shared the same public space naturally. It felt almost utopian\u2014not because it was extraordinary, but because it showed how thoughtful design can quietly shape everyday life.\u2019 For Boscardin, this is where playful design has its greatest potential. \u2018The future of playful design is not simply adding more playgrounds, but creating cities where play becomes part of daily life, and where public space encourages freedom, curiosity and human connection for everyone.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"luca boscardin discusses how play shapes cities and learning \u00a0 Luca Boscardin doesn\u2019t believe play belongs only to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,9913,18,117,19,17,264665,9351],"class_list":["post-626818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-design-interviews","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-magis","tag-play"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117059137506495641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}