Luca Boscardin: Play, Cities, and Designing for Curiosity

In interviews with designboom, Boscardin explains that play should not be confined to childhood or entertainment, but treated as a fundamental design language that shapes architecture, education, and community interaction.

From Venice Architecture Studies to Archiville’s Cardboard Cities

Boscardin initially studied architecture in Venice because he loved drawing, believing the field combined creativity with design. According to the designer, architecture taught him that every project begins by observing, questioning, testing, and refining. However, he struggled to find his personal voice within traditional building practices and later transitioned to graphic design.

While graphic design provided valuable lessons, Boscardin often felt constrained by precision grids and layouts. The turning point in his career arrived with Archiville, a cardboard city featuring interlocking buildings, streets, trees, and public spaces built without instructions or correct solutions. Children stacking houses and growing trees from rooftops demonstrated to Boscardin that objects should invite interpretation rather than dictate user behavior.

The Power of Open-Ended Play Environments

Successful playful environments avoid telling users how to play, according to Boscardin. Instead, these spaces provide open-ended structures and materials that accommodate children’s diverse interests and abilities. Without rigid rules, children naturally invent guidelines, negotiate, collaborate, and learn from one another.

Freedom requires security to flourish. Boscardin notes that design must support adventurous exploration by establishing safe, welcoming environments where users feel comfortable experimenting.

Why Play Doesn’t End With Childhood

Play functions as a mindset rather than an age-restricted activity. While children instinctively improvise and reinterpret objects, adults frequently lose touch with these exploratory instincts as daily routines, efficiency demands, and expectations take over.

Boscardin argues that the capacity to play remains intact throughout life, but modern environments prioritize certainty. Because play resists certainty, it remains valuable at any age by encouraging people to view familiar surroundings from fresh perspectives.

Rethinking Cities Through Minimalist Design

Public spaces often prioritize efficient movement over lingering and community connection. Through projects like Animal Factory—produced by Magis—Boscardin uses abstract animal forms, such as a giraffe maintaining authentic proportions, to create minimalist structures that double as playgrounds, meeting points, workout equipment, or bicycle racks depending on user interaction.

Reflecting on his fourteen years living in Amsterdam before returning to Italy, Boscardin highlights how cities designed around people rather than cars foster independent play. Observing children navigate sand, water, and bike paths demonstrates how thoughtful urban planning quietly shapes everyday life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Luca Boscardin?

Luca Boscardin is a designer, illustrator, and educator known for creating open-ended toys, playgrounds, and public installations like Archiville and Animal Factory that explore play as a tool for learning and urban design.

What is open-ended play in design?

Open-ended play involves creating objects, toys, or public spaces without rigid instructions or single outcomes, inviting users to interpret, imagine, and invent their own rules.

How does Animal Factory work?

Animal Factory is a collection of abstract animal structures produced by Magis that function as playgrounds, meeting places, or everyday public objects based on how people choose to engage with them.

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