It has been said that play is the exultation of the possible. The Five Fields Play Structure then, is the fullest realization of this theory on play. Matter Design, an interdisciplinary design practice founded in 2008 by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee, collaborated with FR|SCH, an architecture and design studio founded by Michael Schanbacher and Kerri Frick, to design this structure that proudly has no purpose. Instead, the form becomes a blank canvas meant for childish exploration and the cultivation of their imagination.

The design resists any directive and rejects specified, singular usage. Twenty-foot tall vertical elements seem to contribute to the structure at one moment, but then extend into the landscape. Doors and stairs, while standard architectural elements, are rethought to lead to nowhere and color is used as a suggestive rather than a clear label on entries and key moments. Another prominent design strategy was to provide multiple means of access to any location. These decisions allow the structure to become a landscape for childish imagination where play is no longer dictated by the structure, but rather the structure (and its uses) becomes dictated by the play. 

The Five Fields neighborhood was designed by The Architects Collaborative (TAC) who bought a farm in Lexington, MA and developed it into 61 affordable homes in the 50s.  The goal was to create a community through shared land. 60 years later, the neighborhood continues to embrace its role as caretaker and the common space remains a key unifier for the community. Five Fields Play Structure seeks to honor this experimentation by celebrating collective imagination as a shared experience. 

As for us adults, we have nothing to fear. The architects have not forgotten us as they assure the structure is a space for collective imagining and celebrating of all ages!