SILIN WANG
Revitalizing Public Spaces:
Integrating Mental Exercise into Contemporary Landscape Architecture Design
Critics argue that frequent use of a formulaic design language causes landscapes to lose their unique appeal and have called for a rethinking of design approaches.
This thesis analyzes traditional Chinese gardens and proposes designing and experiencing landscapes with mental exercise. Additionally, given the popularity of immersive video games, it explores potential insights from these game experiences that could inform future landscape design. By reimagining landscape design as a video game, it aims to understand why and how people are engaged by stimulating mental navigation, active problem-solving, and co-creation of meaning.
Finally, a design experiment on a public urban site in Providence is proposed to develop a framework for re-engaging contemporary public landscape design. This framework aims to promote contemplation and reflection and attract more young people back to outdoor spaces.
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