HASSELL to inspire a revival of hopscotch and marbles

in Upcoming Events & Competitions by admin — 4:27 pm | October 18, 20110 comments

Before iPhones and computer games, kids were playing hopscotch and marbles in the streets.

And they’ll be doing it again soon thanks to a team of HASSELL landscape architects who will be reactivating under-utilised city spaces.

The team is one of five groups awarded the opportunity to transform several Sydney spaces as part of the 2011 STREET WORKS competition.

The HASSELL concept, called Walk the Line, is a path that connects all six of the STREET WORKS spaces. The path will be a simple painted line that turns into a game in selected areas.

Street corners will become hopscotch pitches, bat tennis courts and marbles fields; stairs will turn into waterfalls and road crossings transformed into arcade games.

The concept responds to cultural changes over the past few decades.

In the sixties, controversial writer and activist Jane Jacobs wrote a book about the death of our cities. By the seventies, the motor car had completely changed the way we lived in and designed our cities.

The eighties and nineties weren’t all bad, with shows like The Wonder Years, Neighbours and BMX Bandits championing the life and games that are played outside.

Through Walk the Line, our team hopes to inspire a revival of the pre-iPhone fun that was once considered an iconic expression of our culture.

STREET WORKS is an initiative of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), NSW. The sites will be in place from 21 October 2011 until January 2012. An exhibition of all STREET WORKS competition entries will be held at Customs House during the Sydney Architecture Festival in October 2011.

Tags: Australia event featured ftnews HASSELL Sydney