Unscripted Play
Type: Public Space - Infrastructure
Location: Chicago, IL
Status: On View Sept 19 - Jan 21, 2026 at MAS Context Reading Room
Photo by Dan Kelleghan (courtesy of MAS Context)
A speculative play kit designed for Common Chicago, an exhibition by MAS Context for the sixth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, presents an invitation to reconsider both the invisible structures that govern play in our city and the tangible structures that enable it.
Playlots, embedded in Chicago’s neighborhoods, are designated plots of land allocated for urban recreation. At the turn of the century, they emerged from the social reform movement, resulting in a scripted form of public play that was supervised and contained. Today, growing regulations around the design, access, and upkeep of urban playspaces and equipment for play leave little room to the imagination. Commonplace structures of prescribed use make serial appearances throughout the city.
How can we reclaim play as a vital expression of creativity, autonomy, and civic engagement that permeates our city rather than a rehearsed act only to be enacted on certain stages? Can the city be a place for play, not just a place for playgrounds?
A toy chest contains a collection of pieces for freeform play. Combine them together to compose new forms. Use them for creative occupation - to stage curious encounters and impractical amusements. Deploy them, individually or collectively, in any available place. Let’s reimagine how we might play, together.
